The Building Blocks of Literacy for Preschoolers

Encouraging Language Development & Literacy in Early Years

In past months, we've provided information about our curriculum for Social/Emotional, Cognition, Mathematics and Physical Health & Development. This month we're focusing on Language and Literacy. For Language and Literacy, as well as all the domains, we plan early learning experiences that will support children. We encourage children to:

• Be creative

• Be inquisitive

• Be flexible

• Be critical thinkers

• Be purposeful and reflective

• Be social learners

What is Language and Literacy in the Early Childhood Classroom?

Interacting with people • Gesturing, making noise and talking • Enjoying books, songs and writing • Expressing ideas, needs and feelings • Writing

Through thoughtful curriculum planning and great teaching, our students are able to experience Language and Literacy throughout their entire day at the White Barn. For example, children enter the classroom in the morning and immediately look for their “Name Stone” which is a colored rock that has their name painted on it. They must place their name stone into a basket to mark they are present.

In the opening group, children “Share the News” which is a daily activity effective in building executive functioning, self-regulation and vocabulary. In “Share the News,” children are asked a question, some are easy, straightforward answers and others are more open ended questions. Children provide a verbal response and share it with the group.

Each day, the class has a high-quality Read Aloud from the local libraries. When children sit and listen to an engaging story, they develop positive associations with books. Reading aloud to children strengthens the part of their brain associated with visual imagery, the ability to understand stories and word meaning.

Through the above activities and so many more, we foster language and literacy during the day with our young learners.

What can you do at home?

• Share books everyday, read to your child daily (bedtime is great).

• Talk and sing with your child (ask them about their day, sing songs in the car).

• Practice “writing” (ask your child to draw a picture or make a list, even if it is shapes).