It is natural to think that children struggling with beginning reading may just need more time to settle in and that they will catch...
You can spark your toddler’s interest in the alphabet simply by talking and pointing to letters while you share a cozy reading session!
Within the first few months, your baby will develop the ability to focus on an object and track the motion of the object from left to right. As your baby grows, this awareness to details will help your baby focus on pictures, letters and words in books.
Infants enjoy looking at faces. Very young babies see faces best when they are about 8 to 12 inches away. Use your facial expressions to help your baby begin to notice changes in the things he sees.
Nature is a natural play space. Noticing the similarities and differences in shapes you find in nature will prepare your child for recognizing letter shapes in the future.
As soon as your baby begins to "coo," you can respond to these early attempts at communication by "cooing" right back. These back- and-forth baby talk conversations let your infant know that what she has to say is important to you!
Songs are a perfect way to introduce even the youngest babies to syllables, because in music, each syllable gets one beat. Being aware that words can be broken into smaller parts is a critical pre-reading skill – and this can be introduced just by singing to your infant.
At this age, toddlers have begun to understand the value of language as a means of communicating. Although you will likely understand only about half of what your child is trying to tell you, you can still encourage her language development in a variety of ways.
By exposing your child to rhyming words at this young age, you are helping to lay the groundwork for how language works. As your child gets a little older, she will build upon this foundation by noticing and playing with the sounds within the rhyming words.
Toddlers are keen observers and excellent mimics. They also love repetition and rhythm. By combining these skills and interests, this activity can help your child to begin to develop word and syllable awareness.
By playing games that invite your toddler to repeat sounds, you are helping to show her how to play with sounds and language. We recommend beginning with your child's name, because it is her favorite word!
The ability to imitate sounds is an important first step toward being able to talk. At this age, your toddler is continuing to experiment with language in new ways. Encourage your little one to play with the sounds of language in fun ways.
