Silly Storytelling
Look at this picture with a child and make up a story together.
- Print the page, look at the picture together, and use the conversation starters at the bottom of the page to help begin a discussion. Ask, “What is each Sesame Street friend doing?” “What is funny here?” “What silly thing would you do if you were on Sesame Street?” “Who would you want to play with, and what would you play together?”
- Start the story by saying something like, “Once upon a time on Sesame Street…” “When (child’s name) visited his friends on Sesame Street, here’s what happened.” Or, “All the friends were dancing because…”
- Help kids build on the story by pointing out what the characters are holding, such as Rosita’s guitar and Elmo’s magnifying glass. What might the characters be doing with those things? As children tell their stories, write down what they say so that you can read it aloud to them afterward.
Terry Crews Is an Artist
Terry Crews, Count, and Abby talk about the word “artist.”
Abby’s Letter Garden
Prepare children for school success by exposing them to uppercase letters, helping them recognize them, and write them themselves.
I Know My Letters
A printable alphabet coloring page.
Alphabet Art
Alphabet art is a fun, hands-on way to help kids recognize the shapes of letters. It can also provide an opportunity to layer in learning across subjects. Watch this video and think of ways you might incorporate letter crafts into your work with kids and families.
Building and Rebuilding Language Skills—and Community!
An article about building children’s language skills by enriching your interactions.
Creating Alphabet-Rich Environments
Alphabet recognition involves learning the names, shapes, and sounds of the letters in the alphabet, and it helps get kids ready for phonics learning. There are so many ways to introduce the alphabet to young children. Adding a little alphabet magic to your environment can be a great place to start.
Building a Reader
An interactive course that explores key literacy goals, strategies, and activities to support learning around language and literacy in children ages 2-5.
