The MIRACLE of Emergent Language→Emergent Literacy!!

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!

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’.

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:

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.