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Resource #1: Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle Book Series

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Resource #1: Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle Book Series

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Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle have created a wonderful series of books, the most notable being Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. This book helps children connect colours with their names, in addition to animals and their names. Other books in this series are Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? and Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?. All of these books follow the same language pattern where a question is asked and then immediately answered. This repetitive pattern allows children the opportunity to understand the conventions of questions and answers. An important part of sharing read-alouds with children is the discussion that surrounds the book (Roskos, Christie, & Richgels, 2003). One strategy to increase reading comprehension is giving the opportunity to predict what will happen next in the book (Roskos, Christie, & Richgels, 2003). These books are perfect for introducing young learners to the concept of prediction due to their repetitive nature. It is also recommended that you read texts more than once in order to build familiarity which will, in turn, increase the chances that your child will attempt to read the book by themselves (Roskos, Christie, & Richgels, 2003). The predictable pattern presented in these books provides the ideal motivation for young children to attempt independent reading.

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What better way to practise your sounds than through a game! Children tend to have so much fun playing games that they don't even realize they are learning. The focus of this game is to practise the sound made by each letter and to identify things that begin with that sound. You should only focus on sounds your child is already familiar with as this is meant to be an activity which practises what they have previously learned. You will select a sound (i.e. "b") and your child will search around the given space finding objects that start with that sound (i.e. book, bag, etc.). You can hide objects around the room that begin with the targeted sound and the child has to collect them all or you can just have them point out the objects. The second option makes for a great car game or when you are out for a walk, as it keeps the child occupied and raises their awareness of what is around them! Giving them the option to identify sound patterns in a familiar context has been found to aide in the development of early literacy and phonics knowledge (Hornsby & Wilson, 2014). It has also been noted that one of the top strategies for teaching early literacy is providing children with activities that focus on their phonological awareness, as this activity so aptly does (Roskos, Christie, & Richgels, 2003).

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This is a very simple resource that will easily help your child begin to identify upper case and lower case letters by their shape. Alphabet puzzles can come in all sizes, materials, and styles but I have linked to one from Indigo Canada that retails for $19.95. This set includes both upper and lower case letters and the durable wood makes it resilient, no matter how many times your child drops it! It is recommended that you introduce your child to alphabet activities that promote identification of letters in order to help the development of essential early literacy skills (Roskos, Christie, & Richgels, 2003). This puzzle encourages children to distinguish the differences between upper and lower case letters. Each pair of letters is a different colour from the one beside it, so children can differentiate that "A" and "a" are a pair because they are both red. Underneath the puzzle pieces are pictures of items that begin with that letter (i.e. grapes underneath the "g"). This provides adults the opportunity to associate letters with specific items. In addition to the items behind the puzzle pieces, it has been suggested that adults include items that have personal meaning to the child in order to make the letter more meaningful and more likely to be remembered (i.e. "m" is for Mom) (Roskos, Christie, & Richgels, 2003). This puzzle is also a great tactile activity because children can physically feel the shape of each letter. They must also use their problem solving skills to figure out which space matches each letter's shape. This resource provides many learning opportunities and many hours of fun for your child!

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Wood Alphabet Puzzle by Melissa & Doug | Toys | chapters.indigo.ca

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Buy Wood Alphabet Puzzle by Melissa & Doug at Indigo.ca. Free Shipping on Toddler & Preschool Puzzles orders over $25!

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Resource #4 Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video

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Resource #4 Chicka Chicka Boom Boom video

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Most educators have heard of the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and recognize it as a valuable resource to introduce the alphabet. In this story, lower case A tells lower case B to meet them at the top of the coconut tree. Lower case B then tells lower case C to do the same. Eventually all of the letters climb the coconut tree, but they all end up tumbling out. The upper case letters then come to help their lower case counterpart. The story was so great that a video, which includes a song, was created and is sure to engage your child! In under 5 mins, the story is told with simple but vivid illustrations, all to a catchy song. Sharing the video with your child might be more beneficial than simply reading the story because singing has been found to help with early phonological awareness (Semingson, 2017). This is also a highly engaging way for children to interact with a book because they will be able to sing along and dance to the song. It can be assumed that adding this extra dimension of fun will enhance children's engagement and therefore their learning!

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This resource is probably the simplest and most readily available one on the list! If you do not have markers at home then you can use pencil crayons, crayons, or pencils just as effectively. I find markers are thicker than these other options and therefore are usually easier for young children to grasp. To use this as a literacy tool, all you need to do is give them the freedom to draw/write whatever they would like! So simple! When children are in the early stages of development, their drawings are how they communicate with the world and therefore is considered to be their "writing" (Cabell, Tortorelli, & Gerde, 2013). Children are often pleased that they can leave marks on the paper and create something meaningful (Baghban, 2007). Being aware that they can create something is crucial to a child's sense of self (Baghban, 2007). As they progress, they will eventually start to draw individual marks on the paper to represent words and letters which is a developmental milestone showing that they understand there is a difference between writing and drawing (Cabell, Tortorelli, & Gerde, 2013). It is important that adults show appreciation for what the child has created as it motivates the child to continue further with this exploration (Baghban, 2007).

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Resource #6 Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read app

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Resource #6 Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read app

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In today's busy and technology driven society, it's hard to not have your kids play on your iPad. If they are going to use this tool, why not have them play with an educational app that will help with their literacy skills! That's where Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read app comes in. This app has over 200 games to help with your child's phonics and has been approved by the Children's Reading Foundation. It was also developed with the help of experienced educators, authors and parents. There are various steps to match your child's reading level, but if they are not ready for step one, there is The Big Reading Show which is great for children in pre-school. The Big Reading Show integrates educational videos with interactive games and teaches many early phonic concepts. Technology is often overlooked as a beneficial tool for early literacy, but it has been found that it can actually aide in the development of alphabet knowledge and oral language (Semingson, 2017). Instead of resisting technology, we as parents and educators need to embrace it effectively by utilizing it for educational purposes.

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As children begin to learn how to talk, read and write, it is important that they connect further with the characters in the stories being read to them. Having puppets that correspond with the characters in the story will help the child further visualize the story. As a parent/educator, you can integrate the use of puppets while you read the story or you can allow the child to use the puppet to act out the action in the story. After the story has been read, the child can then use the puppets to reenact what happened in the story or even to create their own versions of the story. Puppets are a valuable tool for children to employ because through this imaginative play, children are required to combine their own thoughts and ideas with language (Pelletier, 2011). Using the puppets to reenact the story afterwords, helps to reiterate the characters and action of the story and increases comprehension of the events (Pelletier, 2011).

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This resource is perfect to read to your child around Halloween! This story focusses on a witch who thinks she has room on her broom for all the creatures that ask for a ride, until the broom breaks! After the broom breaks, the witch finds herself in quite a predicament and relies on her new found animal friends to help her. This story is written in rhyme and therefore is perfect for introducing to your child how some words sound the same at the end but have different beginnings. This is a great read aloud story because it has vivid illustrations and the story will capture the attention of listeners of any age! When you incorporate shared reading into your child's day and discuss the story as it is read, it helps to bridge oral and written language (Pelletier, 2011). If there is high quality interaction between the adult reading the story and the children listening, it will motivate the children to have an interest in reading and enhances their literacy knowledge (Pelletier, 2011). In addition to all of these literary benefits, reading books aloud to your children provides quality time together where you can foster an even stronger parent-child bond.

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This is one of my favourite books! This story is about a giraffe named Gerald who is sad that he cannot join the other animals at the jungle dance because he knows they will laugh at him for not being able to dance. He then meets a cricket who teaches him that sometimes you just have to find a different type of music. Once Gerald finds music he enjoys, he is able to dance and all of the other animals become jealous of how well he moves! This book is a great way to introduce differentiation to children - everyone is unique and you should not make fun of those who are different than you. It also shows children that everyone learns in different ways and that they shouldn't give up if they can't learn something the first time. This story has brightly coloured illustrations which are visually appealing. If you are looking for a great read aloud book for your child, this would be it! As mentioned in an earlier post, reading aloud to your children provides many literary opportunities as well as personal bonding time. It also provides the chance for children to be actively involved in the story and respond to what is happening (ask questions, comment on the illustrations) which maximizes learning potential (Roskos, Christie, & Richgels, 2003). This story is also full of rhyming words, which can be a focus when reading to raise your child's awareness of sounds (Roskos, Christie, & Richgels, 2003). Even if your child is too young to fully grasp the concept of rhyming words, the experience of hearing the rhymes will lay a foundation for identifying similarities in words.

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Resource #10: Sugar/sand/salt on a cookie sheet

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Resource #10: Sugar/sand/salt on a cookie sheet

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This one is an easy DIY at home tool! All you need for this is a cookie sheet and sand/sugar/salt! Put enough of the sugar on the cookie sheet so the entire bottom is covered. Voila! You can now practise letter formations and make words with your child with this simple and reusable tool! Your child uses their finger to draw the letter shape (or for older children, whole words) in the sugar. Once they have drawn the correct letter/word, it just takes a simple shake of the cookie sheet to have a blank canvas again.  This is a great activity to do with your child before having them use a pencil to print the letters. It will be easier for them to make the letters with their fingers, but once they understand the mechanics of making the correct shape, they can use an unsharpened pencil to make the letters in the sugar. This activity can be adapted as your child is able to make the correct letter shape consistently. Even if your child is not forming perfect letters in the sugar, they are at least understanding that these shapes have meaning (Cabell, Tortorelli, & Gerde, 2013). This is an important connection for young children to make and will help develop other literacy skills. Also, it is valuable for your child to have many early writing experiences as it has been found that early writing is the best predictor of a child's later reading success (Cabell, Tortorelli, & Gerde, 2013).

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Baghban, M. (2007). Scribbles, Labels and Stories: The Role of Drawing in the Development of Writing. Young Children, 62(1), 20- 26.

Cabel, S., Tortorelli, L. S., Gerde, H. K. (2013). How do I write…?
Scaffolding Preschoolers’ Early Writing Skills. The Reading Teacher,
66(8), 650-659.

Hornsby, D., & Wilson, L. (2014). Early Literacy Is More Than
Phonics. Practically Primary, 19(3), 12-15.

Roskos, K. A., Christie, J. F., Richgels, D. J. (2003). The Essentials of Early Literacy Young Children, 58(2), 52-59.

Pelletier, J. (2011). Supporting early language and literacy. What works? Research into Practice. Research, Monograph# 37, 1, 4, 1913-1100.

Semingson, P. (November/December 2017). Digital Literacies for
Young Readers and Writers: Ways to Harness Mobile Learning for
Early Literacy Development. Literacy Today, 30-31.