Inside: A handy, free printable reading log. I don’t actually remember much at all about the process of learning to read. But I do know that once I could read, once that switch had been flipped in my brain, I was a reader for life and reading has been a much loved treasure to me […]
Free Printable Emergent Reader and Literacy Group Activity: I See Bugs
My youngest is mad about bugs! She lives for finding snails in the garden, searching for worms in the compost heap whenever we visit my parents, and we’ve had more than a few slater/roly poly bugs living in a plastic bug home on our kitchen bench over the years! There’s no denying that creepy crawly […]
Literacy Spot #29: Alphabet Rocks
Given that our that our story stones are still very popular with Immy twelve months after I introduced them and her current fascination in all things alphabet, when I saw this gorgeous idea for Alphabet Rocks I knew that I wanted to add some to our playful collection of alphabet resources. So out came the […]
Learning to Read Part 3: Sight Words
This video blog is the third installment in the series identifying the important components of reading programs for early readers. Part 1 discussed the role of emergent literacy or whole language. Part 2 discussed the importance of children learning about letter sound relationships and word identification strategies. And this installment looks at the importance of […]
Learning to Read Part 2: Letter Sound Relationships
The following video blog is the second in this series discussing important components of early reading programs – letter-sound relationships. If you missed it, the first installment can be found here. For parents looking for ways to support the learning of letter sound relationships happening in the classroom, try the suggestions in these posts; Learning […]
Literacy Spot #9: 8 Ways to Play with Junk Mail and Catalogues
The saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and this can definitely be the case when it comes to a letterbox filled with annoying junk mail! But what can be seen as an awful waste of paper can actually be re-purposed into some wonderful literacy learning through play for young children – after […]
Literacy Spot #5: Photo Albums
Does your child have their own photo album? Sometimes parents forget that literacy is not just about reading and writing. Literacy includes all of the ways people create and use language. Learning to competently and confidently command the oral aspects of their language is an essential part of early literacy and activities involving speaking and […]
Literacy Spot #3: Party Invitations
With Immy’s birthday less than a month away, my thoughts have turned to all things party planning so I thought, why not have party invitations as the focus of the third literacy spot post? Remember, literacy spot is all about playing around with literacy so here are some ideas for playing with party invitations to […]
Literacy Spot #2: Calendars & Diaries
Does your child see you using a calendar or diary as a tool to help you stay organised? Have you ever thought about adding one to your child’s play? At this time of year, many Mums (and Dads) are setting up their calendar or diary for the year and I see this as a fabulous […]
Reading With Kids: 7 Things to Notice On the Cover
When reading together with your child take a moment to notice the following on the cover before you begin; 1. Read the title of the book. You might like to point out the words which make up the title with your finger. 2. Read and point out the name of the author. 3. And the […]
