What are some Toddler activities that promote early literacy skills?

Question

What are some Toddler activities that promote early literacy skills?

Answer 1

reading to them and having a huge library for them to choose books to look at and to be read to

Answer 2

Aside from the obvious reading, singing songs etc (no offense to those answers given!!) Anything to do with letters (and their sounds starting at 3 and 4).  It is so important for 3 and 4 year olds to recognize and start to write letters!!  That way, in Kindergarten they can use those letter skills to start to READ!!  You woudl be amazed how many children start Kind. and even first grade without knowing their letters!

**Fun letter activities all have to do with touch!!  Put shaving cream on a table, write a letter and have your child try to write that letter in the shaving cream.  Wipe clean and try again!  Find letter cookie cutters and cut them into playdough, or even make jello in a flat cookie pan, use the letter cookie cutters in it and they can "eat" their letters! You can also get different textured materials (satin ribbon, cotton balls) to form a letter and have the kids trace and feel the letters.  You can make the letter with glue and sprinkle sand over it for a more rough texture too.  Write the letter and have kids glue macaroni, beads, or other things on it to make the latter out of them!  Have fun with it!

Answer 3

Step away from the traditional book approuch. Dont drop it all together but try and introduce some new inputs.

Such as : using puppets to help act out a story you are reading to the toddler, and let them be one of the charcters.

                  use a jigsaw that is an alphabet chart, this will encourage linguistic development

                  make challanges out of words

                  when reading, try band associate the story with what the child is familiar with, eg Goldilocks = chairs, porridge and bed.

I hope this helps

(i have a ND in Childcare, Learning and Development)

Answer 4

Get them into reading.  Have them pick the books that they like, practice writing, shapes, colors, rhymes.  I did this with my daughter.  She just turned two and a half in the end of February, and can identify all letters, numbers up to 100, colors, shapes and can read about twenty words without pictures.

Answer 5

If you are a parent my response to you is read, read, read and talk, talk, talk.  

When you read, track the print with your finger or help your child track the print.

Point out print in your environment.  

Introduce new vocabulary words...the easiest way to do this is steer away from "baby talk" or simplifying.  The words that the children do not know they will ask you about.  

Begin to work with their names.  Please note the upper-case beginning letter and then lower-case letters.  Point out letters in their name within the environmental print.  Ex)  the child's name is Laura.  Look at that, Laura!  There's an L in this word too!  /l/ /l/  Hear that sound?  

Begin to place materials on their left when doing art or playing games.  This helps with the left-to-right progression.

Play silly word/name games.  Change the first letter of the words in a phrase...like the popular verse...Willowby-Walloby-Wee the elephant sat on me.  Willowby-Walloby-Woo...The elephant sat on you!  Willoby-Walloby-Waura...the elephant sat on Laura.  Etc.

Clap or drum out words...starting with their names.  I like to use the term word chunks instead of syllables and when they get a good idea about it I interchange the words so they learn the more "technical term".  Lau-ra...2 word chunks... cat-er-pil-lar ...wow!  That has 4 word chunks!

Hope this gives  you an idea!

Answer 6

flash cards, baby einstein DVD's

Answer 7

Read to them a lot!  Talk to them, sing songs.  The best way to promote literacy skills is to spend time teaching them.  I have 4 great readers at home and we didn't use videos, or any other gimmicks, we just took the time to read to them and with them.

Get picture books and let the child make up their own story.  The Carl books are great for this because they use few to no words.

Answer 8

Elmo knows your name!!!