Importance of Early Literacy, by Emily Vonderhaar


Believe it or not, the daily activities of preschoolers is serious business! Songs, stories, games, and rhymes are all important parts of your child’s literacy development. And guess what? You have a huge role in your child’s future literacy success!

Child development specialists warn that the importance of children’s early literacy development cannot be overstated. Children’s success in school and later in life is, to a great extent, dependent upon their abilities to read and write. Reading, writing, and speaking development is interrelated and concurrent.

Following are some tips and strategies to help parents and caregivers provide a rich literacy experience for preschoolers.

Supplies for a Literate Environment:

*Children’s books

*Numerous representations of ABC’s

Ex) blocks, posters, puzzles, stickers

*Writing materials like paints and crayons

*Paper

*Adult printed materials, such as bills,

cookbooks, magazines, and books


Great Activities for Literacy Development

*Read with your child daily from infancy

*Let your child see you reading

*Encourage child to add printed materials to

pretend play (grocery lists, menus)

*Rhyming, songs, and word play

*Trips to library and museums

*Provide frequent opportunities to

experiment with drawing and coloring

*Write down your child’s made-up stories,

or letters to friends and family


Strategies to Use While Reading with Your Preschooler:

*For infants, name objects in book

*Make predictions about the story

*Point out and explain new vocabulary

words

*Ask who, what, when, where and why

questions about the story

*Point at words as you read them


To achieve literacy children must first acquire many basic concepts, including awareness of functionality of printed materials and awareness that sounds make up words. A child’s experience with story reading, discussions about books, listening comprehension, and writing is crucial to early literacy. Children learn through active engagement, so your involvement is vital to your child’s development!