Learning to Read Starts Before Kindergarten

Before your child even meets their kindergarten teacher, their brain and body is learning! BEFORE your child has even entered kindergarten, researchers can predict your child's reading success by measuring your child's Phonological Awareness: their ability to to hear and then manipulate spoken words and sentences. However, the focus of today is pre-phonological and pre-letter recognition.

A Lot is Happening In Your Little One's Brain

From babbling, to babbling with vowels, to saying their first word to saying 200-500 words. A LOT is happening in your little one's brain. Check out UFLI's comprehensive Developmental Milestones for Language and Literacy

In our last post, we focused on different types of vocabulary across multiple grades. Be sure to check it out to see how you can support your child's tier 1 vocabulary as they enter kindergarten.

So What Can Parents Do?

Here are 7 quick ideas from the CDC you can do as a parent to support your child before they are even in the classroom:

1. Responding to the first sounds, gurgles, and gestures a baby makes

2. Repeating what the child says and adding to it

3. Talking about the things that a child sees

4. Asking questions and listening to the answers

5. Looking at or reading books

6. Telling stories

7. Singing songs and sharing rhymes

You can also read more about how you can directly support your child's phonological awareness as your child prepares for kindergarten here.