As parents, we all want to ensure our children succeed in school and life. A big part of ensuring that success is teaching them early literacy skills. These skills lay the foundation for all future reading and writing abilities, and giving your child a head start will help them immensely as they move through their schooling. 

So, what early literacy skills can you teach your child? Here are a few ideas:

1. Phonemic Awareness

Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. It is an important early literacy skill because it lays the foundation for children to be able to read and spell words. You can help your child develop phonemic awareness by:

• Reading aloud to them and pointing out the different sounds in words
• Playing sound games like I Spy and Simon Says
• Asking them to identify the beginning, middle, and end sound in words

2. Print Awareness

Print awareness is important as an early literacy skill because it helps children to understand that printed materials are a source of information and that print has meaning. It also helps them become familiar with print features, such as letters, words, and sentences. Here are a few things you can do to help your child develop print awareness by:

• Pointing out print everywhere you go 
• Showing them how to handle a book 
• Reading aloud and following along with your finger 
• Asking them to point to words as you read

3. Letter Knowledge

Letter knowledge is the understanding that letters have names and shapes and that they are related to the sounds they make. To be a successful reader, your child needs to be able to recognize and name letters. You can help your child develop letter knowledge by:

• Pointing out letters everywhere you go
• Singing the alphabet song
• Playing games like Alphabet Bingo and Hangman
• Asking them to identify the beginning sound of words

4. Vocabulary

One of the best predictors of a child’s future success in school is their vocabulary. Vocabulary refers to the understanding and use of words. You can help your child develop their vocabulary by:

• Reading aloud to them and talking about the stories you read 
• Playing word games like Scrabble and Word Ladder 
• Pointing out new words and helping them understand the meaning  
• Asking questions and encouraging your child to ask questions

5. Comprehension

Another skill you can teach your child is comprehension. It is the understanding and interpretation of what is read. A strong vocabulary enables children to express themselves more clearly. To help your child develop comprehension, you can:

• Asking them to retell stories you’ve read together 
• Asking them questions about the stories you’ve read 
• Encouraging them to make predictions about what will happen next

Encouraging a love for reading is one of the best things you can do for your child’s academic success. When you read and share stories together, you’re helping your child develop their imagination and critical thinking skills. So curl up with a good book and enjoy some quality time with your little one – you’ll both be glad you did! To learn more, contact Pelican Point Preschool.