It’s a storytime morning! You eat up, clean up, bundle up, and buckle up. You pull in, come in, settle in, and begin. What is UP? Why is making it to storytime worth all the work to get here? Storytime thoughtfully and specifically nurtures early literacy skills each week. Every time you show up, you build up your child’s skills for their future in reading and writing.
What is early literacy?
Early literacy is the natural development of skills in very young children that become building blocks for reading and writing. To put it briefly, early literacy grows through having positive experiences with language. There are five basic practices that are known for enriching early literacy. You are doing these already, every day! They are: read (listen to reading), write (mark-making), sing, play, and talk. Let’s look at how one recent preschool-age storytime touched on these practices and encouraged extensions at home.
Sing!
We opened and closed with familiar sing-along songs. Additionally, our special song was the playful “Mamma Don’t Allow,” which got us singing, dancing, clapping, twirling, and whispering. When we sing to or with our children, they hear words in smaller parts as songs stretch the words out. This is a building block for breaking words into syllables and increasing listening skills. Retention is improved by using this different (and musical!) part of the brain. Bringing simple songs and nursery rhymes into your day for routines like bath time or for making a waiting line easier both brings a smile (and patience) and enhances your child’s early literacy skills.
Read!
We also read books, of course! Cats Are Cats is purely funny. When we read our favorite books aloud, children learn to associate positive feelings with books. This increases motivation, joy, and confidence in learning to read! Additionally, books like Bad Cat are both engaging and foster great conversation between you and your child. Has your cat ever done such sneaky things? Talk (and laugh) about it. And remember, books contain a higher variety of word choice than the spoken word, so you’re filling up your child’s “word bucket” every time you read to them. Finally, the repetition found in Cat Nap is a great early literacy boost. When we read books with repeated words or phrases, children identify patterns and strengthen memory. This is a building block for reading fluency, confidence, and comprehension.
Play and talk!
Somewhere in the middle of storytime, we got a visit from our squirrel friend, Nibbles. Nibbles fosters play with a little interaction time with each child. This summer, Nibbles also had a question for the grown-ups. Taking these topics of conversation home offered more opportunity to explore the conversation with your child. Puppet play at home can encourage a child to talk. Also, making up and acting out very simple stories with puppets can enhance early comprehension by helping children understand that stories have a beginning, middle, and end.
Write!
Our activity at the end of the day was a bit of cat hide-and-seek, inspired by Cat Nap. This game allowed children and caregivers to play and talk as they searched for Kitten hiding around the patio. Something as simple as “checking each box” allowed each child to practice writing with a pencil. The create-a-cat sticker activity that was sent home offered an opportunity for little ones to use fine motor skills and playful creativity.
Take it home.
Building on storytime to engage in more of the five early literacy practices at home is easy! Sing some of your favorite storytime songs in the car. Check out books that expand on the topic of the day. Play like you’re from the story, repeat funny or memorable lines, or draw a character you remember from a book. Look for Nibbles or his cousins at the park and in your backyard (I hear this is happening with great success)! And talk, talk, talk about your child’s adventures and interests. Enjoy interacting with your child; as these five practices show up, watch them glow up as they grow up!
Katie S., Staff Writer