Boost Early Literacy: 3 Essential Tips Every Parent Should Know
Did you know that children as young as three years old can learn to read if taught using the correct strategies with structured literacy instruction?
According to The Department of Education, “Children can start to read during the preschool years, typically around ages 3 to 5, as they develop foundational literacy skills such as phonemic awareness and letter-sound correspondences. Structured Literacy instruction encourages teaching these essential skills during the preschool and primary school years to help children achieve and maintain proficiency in literacy.”
Giving your child the confidence to start school is a priceless boost to her self-esteem that will have lasting benefits.! As a licensed teacher, I have three tips for parents to help improve their child’s early literacy skills before kindergarten.
Home Library
A home library can significantly enhance your child’s vocabulary, reading skills, overall well-being and empathy for others. In the video, The Power of Home Library: What Does the Research Show, you’ll learn why having at least 20 books at home can help your child develop the love of learning.
Here are some research findings to motivate you to start a home library today:
Studies from around the globe show that access to print resources—ranging from board books to read-aloud books to magazines—and shared reading experiences with caregivers in early childhood before formal schooling begins have both an immediate and long-term effect on children’s vocabulary, background knowledge, and comprehension skills (Neuman & Moland, 2019).
Children growing up in homes with many books go on to receive, on average, three years more schooling than children from bookless homes, regardless of their parents’ education, occupation, and economic status (Evans et al., 2010).
Correct Letter Sound Correspondence
I’m not questioning your knowledge of letter sounds, but accents and dialects can make it hard to know if you’re pronouncing them correctly. I learned this firsthand when a seasoned teacher worked with me one-on-one in my classroom. Like many teachers, I wasn’t formally trained in phonics or letter sounds, which are more challenging to teach and correct than they seem.
Why does this matter? Accurate letter sounds are crucial for reading. Students need to sound out and blend letters to form words, and blending doesn’t come naturally—it must be taught and practiced. In the South, we often add a vowel sound to consonants (e.g., /p/ becomes /pa/), which makes blending impossible. For more on this, check out my podcast interview on Homeschool Yo Kids or visit my website for a video on letter sounds.
Read To Your Child For At Least 20 Minutes Per Day
Research shows:
Twenty-one minutes a day of reading outside of school results in higher scores on reading achievement tests and an increase of more than 1.8 million reading words annually (Fisher & Frey, 2018).
Your child spends about 13%-15% of their day in a school or daycare setting, meaning they spend about 87% of their time outside of school. Most of their day is spent with you, making you a significant influence on their development. What you do—and how you do it—is observed and often mimicked by your child, whether you realize it or not. Let them see you reading for enjoyment, and read to them with enthusiasm and joy.
Maggie Jamerson, a licensed educator and local Memphian, wrote the book Only Oliver. It's a tale of a boy who thinks he's alone in his reading struggles. But is that true? Drawing from her 20+ years as an educator, she recognized the necessity for a children’s book that narrates a child’s reading challenges and emotions from a classroom perspective. She also started her own tutoring company Remarkable Readers in June 2021, and has helped over 350+ kids improve their reading and math skills.
Website: www.remarkablereaders.co
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maggiejamerson1
Instagram: @remarkablereaders6
Purchase Only Oliver on Amazon
Email: maggie@remarkablereaders.co