Activities To Enhance Your Baby’s Literacy
In this Article
Help develop your baby’s literacy skills by engaging him in activities such as reading, playing, travelling and more. Doing so will broaden his horizon and open up new possibilities.
Your child’s literacy skills are developing even as he hears you talk sing, and read. For a child, every activity is a learning opportunity. Regular activities like going to the grocer, travelling by train or trips to a park or zoo can help your baby learn several new things. However, parents can further stimulate this process of learning by including certain activities in their baby’s daily routine. These engaging activities will not only work upon the baby’s literacy skills but also help develop the parent-child bond.
Activities for Promoting Literacy in Babies:
1. Reading
Most parents are aware of the benefits of reading out to their babies. It is an important activity that should not be overlooked. There are different books for kids of different age groups. Baby’s books are usually board books with different colors and attractive pictures. One of the initial step towards literacy is when an infant picks up a book, plays with it and tries to put it in his mouth. This shows that the baby is developing an interest. Let your baby handle the book on his own while you read out the words pointing them with your finger.
2. Storytelling
Your baby will not understand the stories you read out to him, but on the other hand, it enhances his vocabulary in the long run. Pick some exciting story books for kids, point out some pictures to your baby and see if he relates or recognises anything.
3. Puzzles and Art
Learning the differences between letters and the individual sound they make, is important for a baby’s literacy development. To teach letter knowledge, start drawing shapes for your baby. Play with letter puzzles or beautify a letter with decorations, for instance, use constriction paper.
4. Vocabulary Games
Babies usually start talking with the onset of their toddlerhood. But parents can start working on their baby’s vocabulary even before he is able to speak, read or write. You can use vocabulary and learning games for kids to make this a fun exercise. Narrate while you work and talk about what you are doing, point at different objects and name them. Try to have conversations rather than giving instructions. Give opportunities to receive appropriate gestures as you ask questions.
5. Activities for Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness means understanding that words are made of smaller sounds. This skill is required to build words vocally and sounding out words which you read. Rhymes are apt for teaching phonemes as they are based on similar sounds at the end of one sentence. Singing also promotes this awareness because melodies tend to break up every phoneme to a specific note.
The importance of reading out to babies isn’t disputed. Utilise literary resources to enhance the literary skills. Incorporate reading out like a regular activity, point out to pictures, think creative and make it interesting so that your baby interacts. These small steps to early literacy will benefit your baby’s academic success when he will start going to school.
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