An intro into baby/toddler literacy and early learning
I haven’t used this platform in a long time because I honestly haven’t had any extra energy to spare the last two years. But here I am again with something I get asked all the time when people meet my kids…”what are you teaching them? They are so smart!” The truth is, all kids are “smart,” it’s all about exposure. You always hear about how the younger siblings pick things up quicker because they see the other kids doing this like talking or walking, and try to emulate them. Children’s brains function at genius levels till the age of 5. They are constantly processing information like the way your lips move when you say a word, to how to jump up and down. They are imitating your actions and emotions. They are learning from their surroundings. The same thing goes for literacy. Never think a child is too little to start reading stories, because trust me, they are listening. They are hearing language and the blending of sounds. They are looking at illustrations and making connections to their own lives. I have been asked by quite a few moms with babies as young as 3 months old to 6 years old, “what are you doing?” So I am hoping this crash course will help shed some light on the subject.
I have always read stories to my kids, but I also show them educational videos, and utilize their toys to teach them simple literacy skills and benchmarks that they will be tested on once they are in school. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to buy these various programs, or toys. You most likely have everything you need, you just need to start utilizing what you have. Because I have always made literacy a focus, it comes naturally to my kids. They all speak extremely well for their ages. Often people are shocked when I tell them how old they actually are. I always do everything in song if possible, because I feel like it is the easiest way for young children to connect and focus on what you are doing. Also, I love to perform! LOL
Where to start?
Well from the time you pop that baby out… brush up on your vocal skills! Make up a song for everything! I personally love “doe a dear,” “my favorite things,” anything Disney, and other classic nursery rhymes. I also sing Christmas songs year round..lol.
When your child is an infant, work on pronouncing different sounds and blends such as “W-O-W,” “ooooo,” “M-A-M-A,” “B-A-B-A.” I usually touch my babies lips to signal them to try and make the sound themselves. Talk about everything you are doing like you have your own show on the cooking network. Repeat repeat repeat.
Next I work on something very simple: animal sounds. We all have books, puzzles, and various toys that are animal related. Use them. I start with barn animals.
“The sheep says BAA.” “The horse says NEIGH.” “The pig says OINK.” “The chicken says CLUCK.” “The cow says MOO.” The dog says WOOF.” etc.
Then start asking your baby to answer you- “What does the sheep say?” “What does the horse say?” etc. If they don’t answer you right away, answer for them: “The sheep says BAA.”
During playtime
Playtime isn’t time for you to plop your baby down and walk away, it’s time to engage. Ask and tell what everything is. Ask and tell what size shape and color everything is. Break out flashcards and work on building vocabulary. Read a story and ask to find things within the pictures. My favorite things to start with are puzzles and small easy to manipulate books. Tactile learning is huge at this time. Start sorting things by color, shape, or need. Do a “picture walk” through a book and talk about the pictures. This is a great way for kids who don’t know how to read words, read the story through what they see in the pictures. (which is also a tool that will help them decode words once they start reading)
Put their work up on the wall and interact with it! I have posters around our playroom and on our refrigerator. We have a sight word wall in Lillianne’s room, and plan on putting one in the babies rooms that they can reach better because they LOVE reading and pointing out the ones they know. I like having it Lilly’s room because it is something we do every night before bed. She can lay in her bed, or be playing in her room, and look up and see her words. It’s easy and accessible.
Using TV/Toddler programs/YouTube as a TOOL
Ok I know this is a controversial topic for some parents. But I’m here to tell you, educational TV is nothing to turn away from. They are getting visual and audio learning in one lesson that is keeping their attention. Learning is fun and entertaining. It’s also relaxing and easy. This is like I said before, a tool, so don’t abuse it. I like to allow my children to watch their “videos” during mealtime and snack time. They are sitting in their highchairs, ready to take in whatever you are going to present them. Any other time, the TV is mostly off, unless I’m using it for music or a movie.
Start off with letters, colors, shapes, and numbers. Then add in other things like “days of the week,” “months of the year,” and other “school songs.” YouTube has always been a big friend of mine. I used it a lot during my time teaching. It is a free and easy resource. I also love the various programs the Ameba channel on Prime Video has available for young learners. The channel I used the most on Youtube is “KidsTV123.” The quality of material and the way it is presented is very appealing to me as a teacher and my kids as willing learners. Also the LeapFrog series with Scout are great for young learners, as well as Preschool Prep Company videos. You can also purchase these programs on Amazon Video, which makes everything super convenient and easy.
Here are a few links to the videos we used frequently:
It’s as easy as crayons and a piece of paper
You don’t need a lot of fancy shmancy things to teach your child. Kick it old school with just some paper and crayons to do the trick. Drawing shapes, letters, pictures of things in their world, etc is all you need to do. Have them color a coloring book and talk about what you are coloring, which color you are using. Draw shapes, letters, and words to label everything, and make it fun! Be animated and inviting and they will have fun with you! My kids think it’s super funny when I change my voice for various sizes or shapes. I give everything a character, and then they emulate me!
For kids a little older in the toddler years, I suggest purchasing a few workbooks and reader series that introduces them to reading at a more attainable level. The whole idea is for them to feel confident, like THEY CAN DO THIS. This is were I think it gets tricky. You want your children to practice and learn, but you also don’t want them to make any negative associations with learning or reading. You are still dealing with a toddler with a toddler attention span and emotional state. So be calm and encouraging. Trust me I know this can be hard sometimes, but just breathe through it and tell them you are so proud of everything they are doing. As long as they are willing to learn, they will! The workbooks will introduce you to various concepts that they will learn/be tested on in school such as sequencing, opposites, left vs right, sorting, etc.
I have made a list on amazon with everything I could think of that you may want when starting out. I hope it helps navigate through everything and make it easy for you and your child to start right away. If you have any questions please let me know below! I would love to hear from you!
