A “literacy-rich environment” is one that provides children with easy access to interact with a variety of printed and writing materials. These materials may include such things as books, magazines, crayons, paper, signs, pencils, or word labels. Having a literacy-rich home brings your child one step closer to becoming ready to read! Today I'm sharing a quick checklist of features of a literacy-rich environment that can help you to evaluate your own home.
“Children with access to books and to quality reading experiences in their homes have more rapid language & literacy development compared with children without such advantages, and they are more able to enter school ready to learn. And although early childhood educational programs can do much to help children develop strong language and literacy skills, there is little substitute for the power of children’s rich, positive, frequent experiences with books with their homes under the sensitive guidance of a parent.”– quote from Shared Storybook Ready: Building Young Children’s Language & Emergent Literacy Skills by Helen K Ezell & Laura M. Justice.
Complete this quick checklist of features of a literacy-rich environment
to help evaluate your home:
___ My home includes a variety of books that are easily accessible to my children (that is, placed on easy to reach bookshelves, or in bins on the floor, etc).
___ My home includes a variety of other printed materials (for example, card games, newspapers, magazines, notes, informative labels).
___ My home contains writing tools that are easily accessible to my children (for example, pens, pencils, crayons, markers, paper, journals).
___ There are numbers throughout my home that are in my children’s view (on clocks, thermostats, calculators, calendars, money).
___ There are areas in my home designated for reading (for example, a comfy chair with a light or a “book nook”).
___ There are areas in my home designated for writing (for example, a playroom with a kid sized table, a desk with paper and pencils, or a night stand with a journal).
___ The play spaces in my home promote literacy skills (for example, having a cookbook in a child’s kitchen area, or a notepad and pencil with a doctor’s set).
___ My children often see the adults in the home engaged in reading and writing activities (for example, reading a magazine or writing a shopping list).
___ We have a specific time set aside for reading and writing activities (for example, writing or drawing in a journal before bed, or reading stories before dinner every night).
How do you measure up?
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