Language and Literacy Assistance

Well, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth–just been busy with new grandkids and other family matters…glad to report I am back!

When I was a new mom back in the 80s, I didn’t know what I didn’t know! That’s me with my daughter, Emily, circa 1984!

I just talked to my kids, took them to the library, read a few books, participated in a playgroup (as much for the moms as for the kids), and didn’t really think about my role in terms of my kids’ emergent language. I likely did all the things I’m recommending, but just used my intuition.

It makes me think of the expression: “When you know better, you do better.”

Now I have the good fortune to be a Grandma–my “Grandma Name” is “Glori”. Get it? It’s a combo of ‘Grandma + Lori’! And my granddaughter can just about say it at 20 months!!

And now I know better, so I do better.

I know kids need to speak first, pay attention to the sounds of their language, then attach these sounds to print–and then learn how the speech and print interact with each other when reading and writing. Children need LOTS of exposure and LOTS of practice. And I am sharing this idea with my own adult kids who are now parents—and also with YOU! Check out the Favorite Resources page on my website and you will see all there is to discover for yourselves. I even created a Video Tool Kit for teachers and parents to share with kids to share how the brain ‘learns to read’.

My granddaughter, Jeri, is now a toddler who devours books–she looks through them constantly on her own, the same ones over and over again. She brings them to adults (many kudos to her maternal grandparents and parents), and now says the words, “read please” in her tiny, melodic voice at our request all day long. That is, when she is not enchanted with song and language filled Disney movies such as “Encanto” or working on her motor skills (climbing, playing with stickers, crawling through her tunnel, etc.). She keeps herself very busy!! Hope your children do likewise!

I am so delighted to be able to share a video from my last visit a couple of weeks ago. As you will see, I am ‘reading’ from Roger Priddy’s First 100 Board Box Set: First 100 Words, Numbers, Colors, Shapes, and First 100 Animals. If you are unfamiliar, this book is a picture book labeling household objects from food to clothing to objects. Here is just a sample:

I love how Jeri is engaged for a full two minutes and tries to say the names of each item.
Note Jeri’s Grandpa also reading in the background!

What struck me the most was Jeri’s intense desire to learn the names of these objects–watch the short video to see her holding her hand over my pointer finger and then her emergent ability to repeat the names of most of the objects…it’s the MIRACLE of emergent language!! What struck me the most was Jeri’s intense desire to learn the names of these objects–watch the short video to see her holding her hand over my pointer finger and then her emergent ability to repeat the names of most of the objects…it’s the MIRACLE of emergent language!!

It made me think of the movie, The Miracle Worker (1962), about Annie Sullivan’s work with Helen Keller. Watch this short video of Patty Duke playing Helen Keller at the water well once Helen understands that objects have ‘names’..again, it is the miracle of language. In the many years of tutoring children with reading/language struggles, I often viewed this video with children when they had a literacy breakthrough. They LOVE it and SEE THE CONNECTION!

We all are already pointing to both the pictures and the words as we read stories. We are already singing the ABC song, looking at the letters on the old fashioned, wooden ABC blocks, and before you know it, getting those magnetic letters on the refrigerator! Pretty soon, children will be able to recognize their names and common items such as a ‘STOP’ sign. You can learn more on the Cox Community Campus website’s. Check out the webinar, The Power of Language for Infants and Toddlers. This is the Road to Literacy! Get on that road with your young ones! It’s kind of like reliving your own childhood.