Language before Literacy

Learning to read and write are important life skills but children can only write what they can think and say! The more we help a child’s language the better a reader and writer they will become!  Before children can learn to read and write they need to know about sounds, words, language, books and songs. Babies and young children learn more by experiencing real life objects and toys, rather than looking at pictures or flashcards. E.g. feeding a teddy a pretend orange in comparison to using a picture of an orange. This can also lead to other new vocabulary learning including what the objects feels / looks like.
 
Top Tips:

• Talk about what you are doing throughout the day when you are walking to nursery, out shopping and driving to school.
• Use real objects when playing with your child. Talk about what the item looks like, feels like and smells like.
• Children need to hear new words 100’s of times in order for them to be able to understand and use them appropriately.
• Get involved with ‘no pens day Wednesday’ at your child’s nursery/school or college!!! This is a national campaign aimed at promoting strong language skills in schools.