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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

How to Promote Literacy at Home

Most parents read to their children every night. Reading with your child helps with:
  • developing his/her vocabulary
  • ability to listen and comprehend
  • ability to understand the purpose of print
  • helping to set up a lifelong positive attitude towards reading 
Talking and singing with children can teach them about sounds and how sounds come together to form language. Teach your child language games and songs. It's also important to listen to your child. Here are some examples of things to try with your child: 
  • Use rhyme whenever you can. Use phrases like 'snug as a bug in a rug' or make up nonsense rhymes about things you're doing-for example, 'putting fish in the cat's dish'. 
  • Sing nursery rhymes with your child when you're at home, in the car or out and about. Children love to sing, and nursery rhymes teach your child language, rhyme, repetition and rhythm. Try rhymes like 'Baa Baa Black Sheep', 'Miss Polly had a Dolly' or the Alphabet Song. 
  • Repeat sounds your child makes, or make up sounds and see if your child can copy them. 
  • Play 'I Spy' with your child using colors. For example, 'I spy with my little eye, something that's green. What's something green I might be looking at?'
  • Talk about the sounds animals make and ask your child to copy. For example, 'Cows say moo. Can you say moo?'
  • At mealtimes, talk about the food you're preparing, what you're doing to it, how it tastes and what it looks like.
  • Talk about objects outside the house or when on an outing-for example, the rustling of leaves, or the sounds of the birds or traffic. Ask your child if she can make the sounds for wind, rain, water, airplanes, trains and cars. 
  • Tell your child stories about when you were younger, or about his family's past. You might like to act out parts of the stories with your child, or tell the story through dance. 
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