Each month, we offer a kit packed with tips and suggestions around an early literacy calendar (also available in Spanish). Here’s a guide inspired by our March Early Lit Kit that will help you read, play, talk, sing, and write at home with your little ones:
Read: Read a book about reading (here are a few to get you started) and think about all the things you like and dislike about reading. Talk to your child about what they like most and least, and be honest about your feelings, too. Talk about how well do the books you read represent your own feelings about reading. If your feelings are different, talk about why you think that might be.
Sing: This is a fun song about reading that you and your child can learn together. It’s sung to the tune of “The More We Get Together.”
Oh I love it when you read to me
Read to me, read to me
Oh I love it when you read to me
Please read me some more
This is a sweet way to teach your child to ask for one more story, particularly at naptime or bedtime. Try it as new routine tonight.
Talk: Talk to your child about your favorite books when you were their age. Has your child read all of your old favorites? Take a trip to library and see how many you can find. Then tonight at bedtime choose one of your child’s current favorite books and one of your old favorites. Talk to each other about why these are your favorites.
Play: Play a game of I Spy. I Spy helps engage all of your child’s senses, and helps them learn to use descriptive phrases like “something big and yellow.” Learning the names of new objects also helps build vocabulary, and playing with you will help strengthen your relationship. Plus it’s fun!
Write: Use crayons, colored pencils, or markers to draw pictures of some of the things in your life. Let your child take the lead—do they want to draw their pet? The tree outside the window? The activity they did yesterday? After they’ve filled the page, ask your child to describe what they’ve drawn.
