The Importance of Early Literacy



Literacy is often thought of as reading and writing and therefore not considered important in the early years.  However, literacy is more than just reading and writing ability, it is the ability to read, speak, write and listen.
It is never too early to think about literacy with your child!Literacy development begins at birth (emergent literacy) and continues through the preschool years.  It is possible to provide literacy opportunities at home using some of the below suggestions.

 
During infant and toddler years 

It is important to:

·     Talk to children with simple language and frequent eye contact.  We should always respond to their attempts at communicating.
·       Singing, playing and finger-plays (songs like “incy wincy spider”) with infants and toddlers is important to develop their language skills
·       Providing crayons, paint and papers for infants and toddlers to explore
·      Sharing simple books with infants and reading to toddlers on the adult’s lap so the toddler can also view the book

 During preschool years

During these years it is important that we:
·         Model reading and writing – giving opportunities for children to see how we read and write from left to right, how letters on the page make sounds and words
·         Include daily reading of books, again allowing the child to follow the book rather than just listening.  Asking questions during the story to encourage practicing language use
·         Give the change to engage in play that incorporates literacy tools.  For example, setting up a pretend grocery store, writing shopping lists, a pretend restaurant could have simple menus.  These all provide and environment of talking, listening and seeing words in print.  Children may even pretend to write their grocery list just like mum and dad do!

During the kindergarten years

In these years we should continue to build on the previous strategies with:
·         Daily story reading from adults
·         Allowing the opportunity for children to try independent reading and writing

You can always ask your child’s teacher for more advice on practices you can implement on home based on your child’s own ability and expectations.
Location: Cluster U,Jumeirah Lakes Towers - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

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