Ready for Kindergarten
Children who are ready for kindergarten have had lots of exposure to books and reading. And because of this, they have developed skills that will help them learn to read. These are referred to as early literacy skills.
Early literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read or write. Your child has been learning about language and literacy since birth!
Studies have confirmed that there are six pre-literacy skills that will help your child start school ready to learn. When you spend time reading, talking, singing, and playing together with words and language can help you get your child ready for kindergarten. You are the key to your child's school success!
The Six Pre-literacy Skills and Tips for Parents
- Print Motivation means interest in and enjoyment of books.
What you can do now:
- Make book sharing a special time for closeness between you and your child.
- Cuddle up together and create a special time and place for reading together.
- Read aloud every day.
- Choose books that are fun.
- Vocabulary means knowing the names of things.
What you can do now:
- Point out words that your child might not know, and explain them as you read.
- Talk about words, feelings, and concepts. (such as opposites)
- Talk to your child about your day.
- Choose books with rich vocabulary - don't limit yourself to picture books or books with limited vocabulary.
- Choose books about cultures and peoples outside your child's experience.
- Teach your child the names of things such as parts of a car or names of flowers, or vegetables.
- Letter knowledge is learning that letters look different and that each letter has a name and a sound.
What you can do now:
- Find words that have the same letter sound as the first letter of your child's name, and say them together, emphasizing the sound.
- Play with letters made from foam or plastic, and help your child learn their sounds.
- Point out and name letters in alphabet books and on signs.
- Don't forget lower case letters.
- Print awareness means learning that in English we read from left to right, and from top to bottom.
What you can do now:
- Show your child that print is everywhere.
- Read labels, signs, and menus with your child.
- Point to words as you read and use your finger to follow the print as you read--help your child to do the same.
- Let your child hold the book and turn the pages.
- Phonological awareness means the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words.
What you can do now:
- Learn and say Mother Goose rhymes together.
- Play rhyming word games.
- Sing songs--songs have different notes for each part of a word.
- Use fingerplays to add action to the words.
- Narrative skills means a child's ability to understand and tell stories.
What you can do now:
- Ask your child to re-tell a favorite story by following the pictures in the book.
- Find wordless books and make up the story together.
- Listen carefully when your child talks and add to what he or she says.
- Ask open-ended questions, such as "What is happening here?"
- Take your child lots of places and talk about what you saw and did.
More about Early Literacy for Parents and Caregivers
Note: In pdf format (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
- Parents Guide to Early Literacy for 4 and 5 year olds
- Parent Literacy checklist
- Ready for Kindergarten Checklist
- About reading aloud
- Mem Fox's Ten Read Aloud Commandments
- Letter Sounds
- Say it slow, say it fast
- Virginia Standards of Learning At-A-Glance - Kindergarten
- Booklist
Early Literacy Games and Learning Fun
- Get Ready to Read
- A-Rhyme-A-Week - Nursery Rhymes for Early Literacy
- ABC Alphabet and Phonemic Awareness Practice for Kindergarten, ESL, Preschool and Special Education
- Nursery Rhymes
- Fingerplays and Action Songs
- Sesame Workshop - Sesame Street
- KidzSing Garden of Song
