Vocabulary Walk
Turn a walk into a lesson about words like the father and daughter in this video.
Walking and talking—or even looking out the window—is a great way to engage children’s curiosity and begin conversations. Watch Elmo’s friend and her daddy go on a nature walk together, and then go on a walk of your own (it doesn’t even have to be in nature)!
You might look for kids on transportation: how many different types can you see? (bus, bike, truck, car). Or, talk about the different types of buildings that you see. (“That looks like an old building.” “That’s a skyscraper! Would you like to live in a building that tall?”)
Later, kids can draw pictures of what they observed. Help them label them, or dictate stories about them.
Terry Crews Is an Artist
Terry Crews, Count, and Abby talk about the word “artist.”
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.
Abby’s Letter Garden
Prepare children for school success by exposing them to uppercase letters, helping them recognize them, and write them themselves.
Building and Rebuilding Language Skills—and Community!
An article about building children’s language skills by enriching your interactions.
I Know My Letters
A printable alphabet coloring page.
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.
