Sep 09, 2024 Introducing The Little Bookworm Chronicles!
Welcome to our new bimonthly blog series, the Little Bookworm Chronicles! I’m Miss Alicia, your Early Literacy Specialist at the HMMPL Whitestown Branch! This blog series will be an informational space for all things early literacy.
Early literacy is often mistaken for the time a child starts reading, but it is actually what children know about reading and writing before they learn to read and write. Early literacy work lays the foundation for reading and writing so that a child has the necessary skills when they are developmentally ready to read and write. Early literacy starts at birth and continues until a child enters Kindergarten. We all want to make sure that the young children in our lives and communities are ready to read before they enter Kindergarten. As caregivers, we can help lay that foundation by providing experiences and environments that are rich in literacy before children enter school. Each Little Bookworm Chronicles entry will share ideas on how to strengthen your child’s early literacy skills through tips, resources, activities, book recommendations, and more. I am excited to go on this journey with you, and I hope you are too!
If you have ever been to a library storytime, you might have heard your librarian mention Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR). ECRR is a research-based early literacy initiative for caregivers. It consists of five practices – reading, writing, singing, playing, and talking – caregivers can use to nurture pre-reading skills at home.
Singing is one of my favorite activities for engaging young children during storytime. Little ones enjoy singing so much, but most importantly, children gain many skills necessary to learn how to read through singing. The “Itsy Bitsy Spider” is one of my longtime favorite songs to sing. Singing the story of “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”, helps children learn the words and the sequence which helps them understand what the story means and retell it in their own words. When you retell songs and stories with your little ones, you prepare them for when they have to comprehend what they read in school for assignments and tests.
The “Itsy Bitsy Spider” is one of my favorite songs, but don’t worry if it isn’t yours or your child’s favorite! Most children’s songs/rhymes tell a story, so when your child learns to sing a song, they are retelling a story and building future reading skills!