Let’s celebrate literacy
On Jan. 27 we celebrate Literacy Day, a day set aside to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy related activities as a family.
Literacy is something babies should be exposed to from an early age. The earlier we introduce our children to literacy in all its forms the better. We can read to our children, we can tell them oral stories, write with them, point out words and letters in their environment and generally help them to build a love for books, writing and reading.
Literacy comes in many forms depending on your needs. Some people are able to read with their eyes and books, some use a computer screen and pictures to communicate and others use headphones and are read to. There are still other ways to read of which I’m sure I haven’t heard of. Whichever way you or your child communicates, literacy in all forms give us the gift of knowledge and knowledge is power.
It amazes me how far research and technology have allowed us to help bring everyone to the same level of communicating. No longer do we accept that a child or adult will not be able to read. We now have options for them to consider, and we continue to create more options. Everyone can enjoy the wonderful world of reading and books which is cause for celebration.
As parents it is our job to create, promote and instill this love of literacy. Literacy is so necessary for most people in their entire lives. I can’t think of very many instances where literacy is not required for success. We need to read instructions to put together furniture, to read recipes to cook, we need to write our name, address, age and other important information at many different appointments and so on. If I haven’t convinced you of the importance of literacy please just Google it. There’s so much more to say on the subject, but I want to save room for ideas on how to engage your little ones.
From the young age of babies: Have books available for them to read, look at and be read to. When in doubt with what to do with baby, read. Talk to your child as you walk with them in the house or outdoors or at the mall, point things out to them, explain things to them, they’re taking it all in.
As toddlers: Continue to have books available to them, point and say books are great at this stage since they’re developing vocabulary and don’t have very long attention spans. Have books for them when you have to wait at appointments or for them to peruse in the car. Tell them stories from your head to help them engage in imagination and read them stories. Point out the letters in their name when you’re out and about, give them grocery flyers to look at or boxes from the cupboard. There is just so much to do with them.
For kids who aren’t interested in books and are busier, build literacy into simple games for them. Use the letters of their name to begin with and have them find those letters around the house (where you’ve previously hidden them) or use them to make hopscotch for them to jump on. These are just examples. If there’s an activity your child enjoys try and find a way to connect it to literacy.
Preschoolers: Oh boy, literacy gets exciting here. This is when you can start playing games with letters, creating words with magnets, and beginning to write. Create letter matching games using balloons or cars (stick a letter onto your child’s cars and have them match the letter to the parking spot with the same letter – depending on your child’s level you can use words instead of letters). For pre-writing, you can start with white erase books or laminated cards where kids follow the lines of letters. These can be great, quiet time activities for your kids that you can pull out anywhere; at the restaurant, while older siblings are doing homework, or when it’s quiet time for them. At this age, helping them recognize their name is a great start for school. Any other words are a bonus and pre-cursor to reading. It’s also a time when you can start introducing chapter books if your child’s attention span allows for it. Chapter books have less pictures and really allow your child to imagine the scenes in their mind and pay closer attention to the story as well.
There’s so much to say about literacy. It really is a stepping stone that allows people to communicate and function in our everyday world. Instilling the love for this from an early age is a bonus for your kiddos. The ideas listed above are just examples and the sky is the limit for how you choose to bring literacy into your home. Each child learns at a different pace. Take the cue from them if you introduce an activity that they have no interest in, perhaps put it away for a few weeks and try again. Good luck and have fun with it.
