Take a Tour of Our Continuum
Our Early Learning and Development Continuum includes nine domains with goals for ages birth to five. Each month these concepts are embedded in new themes and daily lesson plans. Join us as we explore the domains and show you how FunShine curricula will build skills and make learning fun!
Between birth and five years of age, children begin to learn that they can communicate with adults through crying, gestures, expressions, sounds, and words. Children develop these early language skills through playing, listening, talking, reading, and learning the skills that adults use to communicate. These skills set the foundation for development in all areas, but especially literacy development. Strong language development in the early years helps promote success in reading and writing in the future.
Language and Literacy Tips
It’s important for educators to create a literacy-rich environment for young children. Here are 6 tips to help support the language development of the children in your care:
- Make reading a part of your routine. Establishing a routine helps ensure that reading is part of your daily schedule.
- Ask open-ended questions. As you read to the children, make the experience interactive by asking questions such as, “What do you think will happen next?”, or “What was your favorite part of the story? Why?”
- Reread the children’s favorite books. By age three, children can complete sentences in familiar stories. Reading their favorite books over and over helps them learn through repetition.
- Identify similar words. By age four, children begin to recognize letters. You can point out words in a book that begins with the same letter as their names. It helps them become familiar with the letter and begin to associate certain words with that letter.
- Count objects on the page. As you read, count objects on the page together to strengthen early math skills.
- Read with passion! Using inflection and maintaining the same highs and lows in your voice at the same point in a story helps young children begin to remember the words.
Language and Literacy Activities
The FunShine curricula include many resources to help you build literacy skills: Books, Sign Language, Vocabulary Cards, Nursery Rhymes, Alphabet Displays, Word Wall, and more. Here are a few examples of how to use these components in the classroom.
Ages 0-3: Vocabulary Cards
Authentic, simple photos are a great way to introduce new words to young children. The Buttercups® curriculum for infants and toddlers includes a set of theme-related Vocabulary Cards. These can be used in so many ways!
- Name the object or activity and have the children repeat you.
- Talk about the picture. Describe colors, shapes, or other details.
- Find similar objects, toys, or books that are the same.
- Ask relevant questions about the image.
Ages 3-5: Alphabet Displays
The possibilities are endless with alphabet flash cards! Our Fireflies® preschool curriculum includes a set of A-Z Alphabet Displays. A great way to use these is an object hunt. Shuffle the letters and place them face down on the table. Then, encourage each child to flip over a card, read the letter, and hunt for an item in the classroom that starts with that letter. Some examples include a toy airplane for A, a book for B, a car for C, etc.
Back to blog listing