The development of early literacy skills begins at home. Therefore, parents need some fun literacy development activities to provide a strong foundation for your child.
In this blog post, we show some tips and activities to promote literacy development in your child. We also provide answers on what to do if you feel your child is struggling with literacy.
What Is Literacy Development?
Literacy development means learning to read and write. It is a process that begins in infancy and continues throughout life. Early Literacy Development is the foundation for all future academic success.
According to research, children who have strong literacy skills are more likely to be successful in school and in life. With that said, wouldn’t it be great to have some easy and fun literacy development activities to help your child?
Why Are Literacy Development Activities Important?
Being able to read and write well helps children develop communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Getting children to have fun while learning to read and write can set them up for life!
Literacy development allows children to learn about the world around them and understand different points of view. In addition, it is linked to success at school and in life.
Finding literacy development activities that your child will enjoy can really set them on the best path. Imagine not having to drive your child to want to read a book or write a story for you!
Literacy Development Activities For Young Children
- Read to your child every day: Reading aloud to your child is one of the most important things you can do to promote literacy skills. You can do it in a fun way by picture storytelling. As they get older you can use your finger to point to each word and get them to follow along. Doing this allows them to begin to recognize easy, common words.
- Make reading a part of your daily routine: Try to establish a regular time for reading each day. Often this is just before bedtime and can help your child develop a love for reading. Try not to use stories that can get them excited as they may then have trouble settling down! Find out how reading the news can also benefits your children.
- Encourage your child to ask questions: Asking questions is a great way for children to learn, and it shows that they are listening. Encourage your child to ask questions about the books you are reading together. Especially if there is something they do not understand. Literacy is more than just reading and writing. One of the most important parts of literacy is comprehension!
- Visit the library: Libraries are amazing resources, particularly for kids. Buying books can be expensive and a library allows them access to hundreds of them. Take your child to the library and let them explore the multitudes that are available.
My Child Is Struggling With Reading
Children develop skills at different ages. We all know people whose babies walk at 10 months, whereas others still aren’t walking at 18 months! Reading and writing skills are no different!
In very young children, it is important to make the process of learning these skills fun. Make sure to use positive encouragement with every effort they make. When reading to them, use different voices for characters and try to get them involved in the story. Make story-time as fun and funny as you can. This will make them want to listen, and then also learn the skill themselves!
Once your child is at school they really should be starting to refine literacy development. If that is not the case, there are a few things you can do.
- First, talk to your child’s teacher. They will be able to provide information on how your child is doing in school. In fact, they often pick up small things that parents can’t see. This may include social problems, vision or hearing problems, and many more. Furthermore, they will have good advice on what you can do to help.
- Second, seek professional help if it is required. There are many resources available to help improve children’s literacy skills. You can incorporate these resources into easy and fun literacy development activities.
- Finally, don’t give up! This is a process that takes time. With patience and persistence, your child will learn to read! Not only that, they will develop the skills they need to be successful in school and in life.
Encourage Them With Fun Literacy Development Activities
Literacy development activities should be fun! These are things you will do every day with your child so they need to enjoy them.
Try some of our expert tips to get your child to explore their letters and improve reading skills.
- Play word games: Games are a great way to promote reading. Try playing some of these classic literacy games with your child: Hangman, Scrabble, Boggle.
- Write letters: Have your child write a letter to you at the end of the day. They can write to family members, friends or even their favorite characters. Encourage them to write an early letter to Santa, the Easter Bunny or even the Tooth Fairy.
- Make-up stories: This is a great activity to nurture creativity in your child. Encourage them to use their imagination and make up a story. You can even help them create the storyline by asking “What happens next?” Then, help them write it on paper.
- Introduce Comics: Reading comics can improve children’s language skills and introduce them to literary devices while also encouraging reluctant readers to develop a love for reading. Using engaging stories and colorful characters, comics can make reading less intimidating and motivate children to continue reading. Parents can consider getting their child’s first comic book from various online comic book stores.
- Draw pictures: Literacy development doesn’t just mean learning to read and write. It also means learning to communicate through different mediums. Drawing is a great way for children to express themselves.
- Go on a scavenger hunt: This is a terrific activity to get your kids outside. Give them a list of things to find and see how many they can check off. As they find each item, have them read it aloud to you.
- Cook together: It is a great opportunity to teach your child about numbers and measurements while reading. Help them follow a recipe and make a delicious treat!
- Visit the zoo: Learn about different animals and practice reading at the same time! Visit your local zoo and have your child read the common signs. For example, Entry, Exit, Food etc. You can also read each animal information board to them and get them to follow along. They will be having fun while unknowingly doing literacy development activities.
Conclusion
There are many simple and fun literacy development activities you can do with your child. Experts agree that the best way to promote literacy skills, is to start early!
Read to your child regularly from a very early age – as young as 3 months. Sure, they won’t understand, but they can enjoy listening to the changes in your voice as you read. Try incorporating reading skills into your everyday activities and see how your child grows and learns.
Get creative with literacy development activities! A scavenger or treasure hunt gets them reading but also exercising and outside! With patience and persistence, your child will develop the skills they need to be successful in school and in life.
Thanks for reading!
Look for more fun ways to promote literacy in your child with our article – Picture Storytelling: Fun-tastic Ways To Improve Your Kid’s Skills
My name is Andrea Thompson and I’m a home based freelance writer. I’m 23 years old, married to my best friend, and mother to a wonderfully independent and opinionated 3 year old girl and step-mother to a sweet seven year old boy. I live in a tiny, little town in Kentucky, where I spend my free time fishing with my kids.
Writing has always been my passion, which I followed through high school, and for a while in college. Life happened, and once I discovered we were pregnant, I switched directions; opting for the healthcare industry because of the stability.
Finally, years later, I was in a place where I could leave the day job that never truly made me happy, and pursue my dreams. I’ve built, and am still building, my writing career from scratch. But, I’m passionate and I’m good at what I do. And, in the end, I can prove to my daughter that she can do anything she wants with this life.
