How Parents Can Actively Support Their Child’s Literacy Development
It takes a village to raise a child with good literacy skills, and educators certainly play a big role in enhancing these skills. However, the UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning points out that children’s literacy skills improve when their parents are involved in their learning process. Kids are more likely to develop language skills and other core competencies, especially when their parents guide them every step of the way.
So if you want to support the literacy development of your little one, here are some useful tips you can follow:
Introduce books to your kid at a young age
You may have heard this already, but it’s a must for parents to read stories to their kids every day. Our article on Enhancing Early Literacy Skills emphasizes that the earlier you introduce books to your child’s life, the sooner that they will develop their early literacy skills. Over time, you’ll notice that your child will join the reading process by doing eye tracking over the page or even pointing at the same words. When they get old enough, they’ll even give comments or ask questions about the story itself.
So while your child is still young, make reading a nightly activity for the both of you.
Encourage your little one to draw images
Believe it or not, drawing can actually improve your kid’s ability to communicate! Maryville University’s post on literacy development lists drawing as a fun exercise that lays the foundation for early writing skills and creative thinking. While those little scribbles may seem abstract, it is crucial in helping kids develop the motor skills they need for writing. You can further engage your kids by getting them to describe their scribbles to improve their ability to communicate ideas.
They can further develop their talents through our Messy Hands & Preschool Artists classes. This class will be a great opportunity for your kid to express themselves through art and communication.
Keep it entertaining with the help of music
Much like art, music is an unexpected yet effective strategy that can help boost your kid’s literacy development. Researchers from Harvard University discovered that plenty of preschool teachers use music to increase various literacy skills. To illustrate, listening to songs can enhance your kid’s visual-auditory mapping, speech processing, and vocabulary development. The good news is that you can simply play a song with good lyrics to help your child expand their vocabulary.
To make your music sessions more effective, you can sign up your infant or toddler on our Rock-a-Baby Music program. The curriculum for this class was made by NYU-trained music educator, Marc Trachteberg, making it effective in developing your kid's rhythmic abilities and interactive skills. Music also happens to be useful for kids with diverse needs, which is why we offer an Adaptive Music and Dance Program. This program uses songs and movements to encourage the development of communication skills in kids with developmental delays, an autism spectrum disorder, and sensory integration issues.
Boost their literacy skills through games
Kids love to play games, which is why it’s not surprising that the University of Jyväskylä and Carleton University cite games as an effective home literacy activity for kids. Their study highlighted that kids who play rhyming games with their parents were more likely to show interest in the alphabet and words at a young age.
For starters, you can play a rhyming game by stating a simple word like ‘dog’ and asking your kid to match it with a word that rhymes with it. You can also try to play the game ‘I spy’ as a way to introduce letters or even adjectives.
There are plenty of fun and easy ways to boost your kid's literacy development. By fostering their ability to communicate at home, your kid will have a good educational foundation once they start taking classes.
Article written especially for littlebeatstda.com
By Alicia Theodore