Emergent Literacy Part 2 (Sounds and Words)

BOOKS!  BOOKS!  BOOKS!  SONGS!  FINGER PLAYS!  POEMS!  GAMES!
Below are a number of different activities for children five and under.  However some are more appropriate for the 4-5 year old.  It is important that you understand that your child must build their skills starting with simple words, then more complex words, putting together before taking apart.  All this comes before substituting beginning or ending sounds in rhyming.   Must identify a letter before or with the sound.  Single sounds before blends.  Most common sound before the secondary sound on some letters.  The English language is not an easy language to understand.  So take it step by step and if you use the right sequence in developing literacy skills your child will excel!

• sing songs require listening and following instructions.  Model the movements with your child.  Have lots of fun!
• listen to music and sing songs that rhyme.  How many of you remember nursery rhymes.  Well it's because someone sung them to you taught them to you.  Act them out.  Again have fun!
• play letter games using large letters of lower case and upper case letters- you can buy these or make them out of foam, paper(laminate) or cardboard  (Make sure you always say the name and sound of the letter)  Have your child match them to the music.  or use a one or two letters each week and have your child bring a couple items from around the house that have the same beginning sound. You can also do this with pictures.  It is important also that you teach your child the difference between a letter, a number, a shape and a symbol.
• Create a Letter Sound Book (At home word wall)  Start with letters of their name and have them cut things out of magazines, catalogs, and newspapers that have the same beginning sound and paste them on the matching page.  Then review the book periodically during the week.  Reviewing the letters, sounds and words that correspond.  This activity will need your guidance and checking for accuracy.  But remember to reinforce positively.
• Play memory using two sets of letter flash cards.  Use only a few letters to start (maybe 5-8 pairs) and increase as the child gets more advance.  You can also make up card games using the same cards (Like 'Go Fish' or create an odd card for 'Old Maid')  There are a slew of activities you can do with two matching sets of cards- see Septembers blogs.  Make sure when you play these games the child identifies the letters and reviews the sounds by saying a word that the letter begins with.
• Talk about sounds that you hear around the house and outside.  Play a game where the child closes their eyes and listens to see if they can identify the sound.  A child has to be able to listen to natural sounds and words before they will be able to listen to specific sounds in words that are letters which is needed to learn to read and write.  This sounds like a simple game but it is very important for young children to master.  Just like they master simple sounds then words, then sentences then conversations.  It is all a sequence they develop through
• Teach the child that some words are made up of two words which are called compound words.  You can find many of these words within the toys they play with like air-plane; base-ball; or nature- sun-flower, butter-fly.  Talk about what each word means separately and together.  Use each hand to represent one word each and say  "If you take air (left hand) and add it to plane"(right hand) bring both hands together and say "your get AIRPLANE" then clap.  Do the opposite to illustrate how a compound word can be taken apart.  "If you have airplane and you take away plane you have air"  Just reverse the hand motions.  You can also ask your child to find the object you are forming with two words.  It is very important that your child understand what butter and fly by themselves are before they become butterfly, etc. for the activity to be developmentally appropriate.  Simple words come before complex words and words are nothing without meaning.  Please remember that simple rule when working on literacy skills with your child.
• Make ups silly rhymes and encourage your child to help you.  This is more advanced and developmentally appropriate for the child who understands basic letter sounds and compound words.  Funny rhymes are always fun.  Then you can try tongue twisters if you are really brave!

Many more activities, games, actual songs, finger plays, poems, and interactive websites will be listed for you to use in September's Blog.  Stay tune.  We are just building your foundation of information.  Any questions or concerns, please let me know.  I will be glad to help!

Literacy & Learning through Art and Play

Art/Creative Ideas that allow children to learn, explore & express themselves while having FUN!
Fly Swatter Painting on Spring Scenes-
Supplies: White Butcher paper or large sheet, stickers (flowers, insects, etc.-foam or regular), paper, glue, scissors, paint, large trays, fly swatters (one per color), smocks, clothes pins, soap & water

1.  Have children create a spring scene of flowers, butterflies and insects using stickers, scissors, paper and glue.  Let this dry completely.
2.  Hang the Spring scene on a chain link fence with clothes pins at child's height
3.  place paint in trays (only cool or warm colors) and place by spring scene
4.  have children put on smocks
5.  place one fly swatter in each paint tray
6.  tell the chidren they are going to swat the insects and paint with either warm or cool colors (review colors and show them how before you let them begin)
7.  when the scene dries talk about the colors and how they blended together to form new colors explaining why these colors are cool or warm.  Let the children tell you what they made and what they see to help them with their expressive language skills.

Rainbow Fish
Supplies needed:  'Rainbow Fish' books, circles, triangles, and other shapes, glue, old crayons (already grated for very young children) A bright warm sunny day

1.  Read storybooks about the 'Rainbow Fish'
2.  Discuss the story with the children.  Ask them why the rainbow fish was special?  Could they make a special fish?
3.  Demonstrate how you can use different shapes to make a fish by combining ovals or circles with triangles, etc. 
4. Let children create their own fish using any shapes they choose.  The younger children may need you to have the shapes pre-cut, older preschoolers should be encouraged to cut out their own shapes.  WE ARE NOT looking for perfection by an original creation by a child.  Make sure you have them put their name on it.
5.  Demonstrate what happens when you blend two colors like yellow and red, etc.  Ask the child, what did we get?  You can use paint, food coloring or colored paddles to illustrate color blending.  Then tell the children they are going to create a fish that has colors that blend for them and they will have created a rainbow fish.
6.  Have older children use large plastic graters to grate old crayons, use a vast variety of colors.  Then have the children mix the colors.  You may do the grating for younger children but let them do the mixing.
7.  Place all the fish face up outdoors in the bright sunlight (about 80 degrees or warmer)  Then have the children take their crayon mixture and sprinkle it all over their fish.  Leave the fish outdoors for a couple of hours and the grated crayon pieces will melt onto the paper.  Brink the fish in to dry over night.
8. The next day have children attach an eye and describe their fish to each other.  You can also attach their fish to a large craft stick and have them create a puppet show retelling the 'Rainbow Fish' stories you read.  You will reinforce emergent reading with retelling and expressive language when they describe their fish to one another.  It's art with a literary twist.

Stay tuned for more ideas.  If you are looking for a specific type of activity, send in a request.