Early Literacy Resources
My son is all about games and challenges and this rhyming tree was just the right amount of learning ( and fun) after a long day at preschool. Whether you homeschool or just add little bits of learning into a day full of errands and play remember that lessons don’t have to be long, they just need to be targeted. This morning as I nursed my daughter my son and I played with rhymes so when he got home I had this tree prepped for him to revisit the rhymes and some new ones too.
- Gather your materials. You will need some sticky back foam( I used up lots of scrap pieces finally), construction paper ( I also used part of a paper bag… I love reusing things), markers , scissor and a glue stick.
- Start by drawing a tree without leaves.
- Write one word on each branch.
- Cut out and glue on the construction paper.
- Write rhyming words on the foam and cut out in the shape of leaves.
- Glue the tree on the paper.
- Add one rhyming fool . Peel and stick the words onto the rhyming branches.
This isn’t a quiet time activity because I added some words to spark discussion like pair and pear as well as said which he recognizes in books but I suspected ( correctly) that out of context he doesn’t recognize. So even a little lesson( or game as my son calls it) like this can let me talk about homonyms and check on his sight words stress free. 
- He loved it and laughed hysterically at me when I asked if I could add one becuase I was SURE that chair and bee rhymed. Another reason to stay and play… giggles! When we were done he counted up all the words on each branch to see which branch won. Yay a little math too !
The best part about learning to read are these games and play that becomes possible so don’t forget to make words a game…even if there is a lesson or two hidden inside.
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I offer my kids crayons, markers and paint daily but my son has been in a rut. He turned down my offers, he wouldn’t grab the basket I’d leave materials in during quiet time, it seemed like I’d never get him to draw just to draw again! Then I bought some clip boards after seeing this art display on pinterest, My original goal was to make it a gallery for any and all of our art work but when I put white paper on them to see if I wanted to spray paint the clip boards white both my kids stopped playing . My son asked immediately what they were for , and I am so glad I was quick enough to answer ” They are for you, grab the markers!”.
And he did, and still is!
Now I simply change the paper every few days, he notices that there is fresh paper and grabs the markers.
He’s not the only one though , my daughter loves the clip boards too.
The paper stays put and now when I grab it off the wall she immediately starts signing “Please!” As you can see she is a huge fan! 
Best part is that you have a place to display your art already! Displaying art is really an important thing because it celebrates their creativity, their accomplishments and boosts their confidence in their own abilities. 
Sometimes simple is all you need.
Monday morning used to be our Letter of the Week day but as you may have noticed it’s been missing lately. There is a great reason for that, my son is done , like DONE with these projects. He’s known all his letters for ages and as I preach I also practice following my child’s interests to support his learning. Now we are working on putting letters together, sounding out words as we read and rhyming. Playing with letters and words in addition to reading is a great way to make learning an experience. Lessons that are fun are more likely to be remembered , connections are stronger and learning is less frustrating. Sometimes the easiest way to make those fun connections is to use a character, game, book or in our case a WordWorld ebook as your inspiration. It’s also why most of our crafts are linked to books.
If you aren’t familiar with WordWorld it’s a TV show on PBS that really IS educational. It promotes literacy in a very real way, and for kids like my son who are just starting to make the leap from simple letter recognition to decoding (which is most easily explained as the process of “sounding out” the word using the letter sounds) it’s super fun to watch because so many of the animations on the show are shaped using their word, so be prepared to hear ” I just read sheep all by myself!”
Did I mention how important confidence is for reading? It’s big.
Ok so here is what we did. Inspired by this ebook we decided to make family word puppets which also uses my son’s absolute love of pretend play. Instead of using the process of decoding explained above we used encoding ( breaking down the sounds in a word verbally and putting them into print ) to make familiar words we use every day , perfect for his level of mastery.
- Gather your materials. You will need some family photos, construction paper or card stock, crayons, scissors, tape , sticky back foam letters and popsicle sticks ( tongue depressors would be even better).
- Start by deciding which family members you want to create, make sure the words won’t be too frustrating for your child. Cut those out.
- Now decorate the paper however you want with the crayons. We are using crayons and tape with this project so that we are free to play as soon as they are done, if waiting isn’t an issue paint and glue works great too.
- Add the letters and photo.
I made sure we had all the letters we needed in the pile . Having the letters easy to find ( but not done for him) as soon as he connected the sound to a letter was important to keep his confidence up, fun going and frustration at bay. If your child is struggling, help by all means this isn’t a test. 
- Tape on the sticks and pictures.
- Make your whole family!
- Time for a puppet show.
I had a blast watching my son’s puppet show, his impressions of our family interactions was eye opening but ultimately heartwarming.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by WordWorld, I also received a DVD free of charge. The craft concept, educational information, opinions and kids are my own. You can try WordWorld’s free eBooks and games, and find more information about their iPhone and iPad apps on their website.
This series has been on my mind for a while now. As a former first grade teacher, teaching children to read is one of my greatest passions! But because most children don’t start actually “reading” until around 6 years old (which is upwards of the targeted age range for my blog), I didn’t want parents to feel pressured that their 3-year old needs to start reading (which, by the way, they don’t!). However, the information shared in this series is general information that is beneficial for children of all ages, whether your child is ready to read or not. Don’t implement all of these strategies at once, nor should you expect your child to be able to do everything right away. It is a process and this information is simply for you to implement when you feel your child is ready.
Read to your child
Teaching your child to read is truly a process that begins at infancy. (No, I am most certainly NOT advocating programs that claim to teach your baby to read using flashcards!) What I AM encouraging you to do is to begin reading with your newborn within days of welcoming her home! Not only is this a special bonding time for the two of you, it instills in her a love for books. Enjoyment while reading is one of the single greatest predictors of reading success in school-age children. If children don’t learn from an early age to enjoy reading, it will most likely hinder their ability sometime down the road.
Here are a few suggestions for the types of books to read to your child. But by all means, read whatever your child responds to and enjoys!
- Birth-1 Year: Lullabies, Board Books (with real pictures), Cloth Books (with various textures), Song Books
- 1 Year-3 Years: Rhyming Books, Song Books, Short-Story Board Books
- 3 Years-5 Years: Alphabet Books, Song Books, Picture Books, Rhyming Books
Ask questions
Asking questions while reading to your child is not only great for encouraging your child to interact with the book, but it is also extremely effective in developing his ability to comprehend what he is reading. You see, if our main objective in “reading” is getting our child to “sound out” words, we have missed the boat entirely. Even children who can decode words and “read” with great fluency still might not be able to comprehend what they are reading. If a child can’t comprehend what he is reading, there really is no point to reading at all!
While your child is a baby, ask him questions such as, “Do you see the cat?” while pointing at the picture of the cat. This will not only develop his vocabulary, it will also encourage him to interact with the book that he is reading. As he gets older, ask him to point to things in the book himself and make the noises of the animals he sees.
Once your child is about 2 or 3-years of age, begin asking questions before, during, and after reading the book. Show your child the cover of the book and ask him what he thinks it is going to be about (predicting). While reading, ask him what he thinks is going to happen or why he thinks a character made a particular choice (inferring). If a character is depicting a strong emotion, identify that emotion and ask your child if he has ever felt that way (connecting). At the end of the book, ask if his prediction(s) came true. Afterwards, ask him to tell you what he remembered happening in the book (summarizing).
Modifying each of these techniques during read-alouds to meet the developmental stage of your child is a great way to promote and increase reading comprehension!
Be a good (reading) example
Even if your child is fascinated with books from an early age, her fascination will quickly dwindle if she does not see reading modeled in her home. If you are not an avid reader yourself, make a conscious effort to let your children see you reading for at least a few minutes each day! Read a magazine, a cookbook, a novel, your Bible…it’s up to you! But show your child that reading is something that even adults need to do. If you have a son, share this article with your husband. Sons need to see their fathers read, especially since it is not something that they are naturally prone to doing.
As parents, we can sometimes get wrapped up with what exactly our children should be doing to be successful. But we often forget that children often learn by example. Grab a book and take a load off…for your child’s sake, of course!
Sight words are tricky for a lot of kids, since so often we encourage them to sound it out, and take their time, with sight words we want to know them immediately. Here is a fun activity you can do at home to help practice these words! I used this game with a 2nd grader I tutored and it worked like a charm! Oh and yes this is for older children, not toddlers and preschoolers!
- Gather your materials. You will need some paper, a ruler, a marker, scissors, a paper punch or pre punched shapes, and a list of words your child needs to practice. I am using the Dolch Sight Word list for 1st grade.
- Using your ruler make a Bingo Board on a plain piece of paper.
- Write in the words and don’t forget to have a free space in the middle of the board!
- Write the words that are on the board on small pieces of paper , you’ll be drawing them out of a bag/or bowl when it comes time to play.
- Using a paper punch , punch out place holders so that you can re sue the board over and over.
- You can also use pre cut shapes or characters, these Spider Man shapes came from a large retailer’s birthday party section and work great.
- Here are the steps for playing:
- Start with a bare board.
- Have your child draw one of the cut out words from a baggy or bowl.
- Have them tell you what it says, and find it on their board.
- Pop the marker ( Spider man in this case) on that word.
- Keep going until they get BINGO!
