early literacy begins at Publix?

My love for shopping and reading came together wonderfully when my daughter was a toddler! I would announce where we were shopping and she would notice the symbols and images on the building. Imagine my surprise as my 2 year old one day read "Publix" on the side of an 18 wheeler on the highway?!?!  My little prodigy I thought!   Has your little lovie ever announced "Target" upon seeing the big bullseye on the front of a certain store? Yelled STOP at the octagon shape at the intersection?  Pointed out an Amazon truck?  Little did I know that my daughter had matched what I said, with what she saw! This carried over to preschool when we began reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear EVERY. NIGHT. FOR. EVER. She LOVED being able to point to the words and match what she rhythmically heard me read.  Environmental print awareness is KEY in building language and literacy in young children, all the while preparing them to read.

​One thing little kids all seem to love is a good nonsense word! Nothing brings out their giggles quicker than changing the sounds of words. Most parents would be surprised to know that manipulating the sounds of words with a 3 year old in such silly way is yet another way to lay the groundwork of building a future reader!

October is right around the corner and this little song is one of my favorite ways to expose kids to rhyming and sound manipulation without them having a CLUE they are working on reading skills! Say the line with the first blank with their name correctly and on the second blank change the first  letter of their name to begin with a /b/. As they catch on change it up with other members of the family, cartoon characters, the ideas are endless.  Give this idea a try and let me know what you think! 

There are tons of ideas out there to work on literacy with your little one! If you would like to learn more about early literacy, send me a message on the Contact form! 

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