**This is a sponsored post from the Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center**
We’ve looked at reading to your infant, toddler and preschooler. It’s important to know, though, that literacy isn’t only about reading. Literacy also involves writing and learning the different sounds of our language.
Once children learn that words on paper have meaning, they will learn that the marks they make on paper can have meaning, too! Here are a few ways to encourage writing:
· Scribble away! Although it looks more like drawing, scribbling is the first step in writing because it helps children to learn how to hold a pencil, crayon or other tool. It also shows them how they can make many types of lines, loops and shapes.
· Write their names. Once children can pick their name out, they can begin to learn to write it, too. Learning to write these letters is a great place to start in the alphabet.
· Ask them to “read” their work. When your child tells you that he or she is “writing”, ask them to “read” it back. This again demonstrates that “what you write means something”.
· Become a scribe. When your child draws a picture, say, “Tell me about it.” Write a few words your child says as a caption. Your child will be empowered seeing their words written for everyone to read!
One last skill that will help your preschooler become a confident reader and writer is experimenting with the sounds of our language. This activity develops what educators and speech-language pathologists call phonemic and phonological awareness. Your child will learn that the words we say are made up of different sounds, and when you change them, they make new words. Here are some fun ways that you and your child can play with sounds:
- Pick out rhymes. Rhyming books, listing words that rhyme, or singing songs with words that rhyme will draw your child’s attention to the fact that there are certain sounds in words and some words sound the same.
- Listen for beginning sounds. Teaching your child to listen to a certain sound in a word gets them ready for reading that sound or writing it down. You can say things like, “Banana. Hey, that starts with the same sound as Barrett! Barrett and Banana!”
- Dust off your old nursery rhymes. Research suggests that preschoolers who start school knowing a few nursery rhymes are better readers later in school! Not only do nursery rhymes help highlight the sounds in words, they also introduce additional language that isn’t a part of regular conversation.
- Point out words that look the same. If you’re reading and come across words that start with the same sound or have the same ending, point it out. This will show your child that the same letter or sequence of letters make the same sounds.
Your preschooler is getting even closer to developing the knowledge and skills to become a proficient reader and writer. Just like with reading, your child will follow your examples. From time to time, write with and in front of your preschooler. This becomes even more difficult in an increasingly typing and texting driven world, but it is definitely worth it!
Written by: Liza Stahnke, M.S. CF-SLP
To learn more about Charlotte Speech & Hearing Center, please visit our website: www.charlottespeechhearing.com
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