In addition to objects beginning with the /b/ sound, hidden magnet B letters and wooden letter B's were in the "beach" to be found and touched as well. Finally, as we played, we made stories with the toys, like: "The blue bears sit on buttons around the bead table. They are having bumblebee soup!" or "Bugs are riding on the bus all the way to the beach!"
3. Chatting with friends! It's true that this is a pre-literacy skill because conversation with peers and adults help children's vocabulary grow which is required for reading comprehension in the future.
4. Rhyming pups: we love playing with puppies and kitties! These toys made by Learning Resources allow us to make mis-matched rhyming pups which are terribly silly! When we fix the pups, we HEAR two words that rhyme correctly. (See how much hearing factors into literacy?)
5. Letter names, recognition, and shapes: Letters are symbols for SOUNDS, and as children develop, they memorize the names and sounds of each letter. Pre-literacy includes being able to see different kinds of lines that make up letters. Some letters have "holes." Some letters are completely curvy. Other letters are made up of straight lines that go in different directions. This peg toy by Coogam helps children look at what kinds of lines make up a letter, and focus their attention on which direction those lines are going.
6. Read a book, and act it out! Caps for Sale became a huge hit for our kids last week, and we used our rug cushions to pretend to be cap peddlers. Acting out a story demonstrates the ability to recall the order of events in a story, and understand the plot of the story. Both skills are critical for reading comprehension.
7. Read for fun! During Work Time, the children often choose to look at books or invite the teacher to read them individually. Young children can identify the difference between pictures and texts, tell their own version of the story based on pictures, and ask for help to know "what do these words say?".
So climb, and dance, and run, and crouch, and jump as much as possible.
10. Drawing: The children have free access to the Art Area during Work Time and are provided multiple choices for mark making (paint, markers, crayons, pencils). The advantage of free form mark making is that it engages more areas of the brain than tracing does. Here is a sample piece of art done by one of our two-year olds that demonstrates she is developing the ability to draw curves, straight lines, circles, and dots. These are all lines she will later learn to associate with letter shapes, and are a precursor to writing. Furthermore, she is learning that marks have meaning.
It seems like "just play," but each of these distinct (yet related) methods of developing pre-literacy skills are fundamental for children to experience prior to formal academic education. How can you bring more of these ideas into your home and environment? :)
