Sharing Books Together
Explore books with your child to encourage language development.
Watch this video on your own. Then say to kids, “Let’s look at a book!” Find a photo album to “read” together (or make a photo slideshow on your phone). Young children delight in looking at pictures of themselves, their family, and friends; and they will enjoy flipping or swiping through the album and talking about the photos together.
For younger children, hold the album and let kids help you turn the pages. Talk about what you see as you point at the pictures (“Oh look, you’re sitting at the beach on a red blanket with your friend Marco.”).
Older children can explain the details of what’s happening on each page and have fun telling stories. (“What do you think happened right before this picture was taken?” and “What happened after?”). Try starting the album by saying “Once upon a time…” and finishing it with “The End!”
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.
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.
I Know My Letters
A printable alphabet coloring page.
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.
