Early Literacy Skills
Babies are born with the ability to process language. Early on they are increasingly aware of the language we use and start to form words. Reading, talking and singing with them helps build language skills. Early literacy skills are necessary to:
- Build vocabulary
- Learn how language works
- Learn how to handle and use books
- Begin to write through drawing and scribbling
- Play with the sounds of language through songs, rhymes and tongue twisters
- Build knowledge of the world around them
- Understand letter-sound connections
- Develop a love of literacy
Babies begin to learn the skills they need for reading and writing from everyday interactions with the adults in their life. Talking, singing, conversing & coloring teach early literacy skills!
75 in 5 Checklist (Kindergarten Readiness)
- Point to and name basic colors in an 8-ct crayon pack
- Hold a pencil/crayon and draw basic shapes: square, circle, triangle, rectangle
- Ask for help when needed
- Tie my shoes, zip my coat, and put on my hat by myself
- Tell an adult what I want or need
- Say or sing the alphabet
- Recognize and write my first name
- Can point to and count up to 5 things
- Answer simple questions
- Play with others nicely (take turns and share)
- Perform basic self-cleanliness (wash my hands after using restroom)
- Resolve differences by using words or involving an adult
- Feed myself using a fork and spoon without help
- Follow basic health and safety rules (cough into my elbow)
- Be questioned without getting upset
- Talk with words so that my teachers/adults can understand me
- Complete simple tasks (can get things out of my book bag)
- Follow directions and rules (I will stand in line when asked)
- Stop what I am doing and move to a new task when asked
- Finish a simple game or activity (coloring a page before moving onto something else)