Flap, Jump and Shimmy into Reading

By Michele, Children's Librarian

If you are singing The eency weency spider song or dancing along with The Crazy Dance Contest by Jim Gill, you must be attending Preschool Story Time. There is nothing cuter than a dozen children age five and under blowing kisses and wiggling along to a story. But look closer at the jumping, clapping and animal sounds and you will see a method behind all this silliness.

Programs at the library are all about promoting children's literacy develpment. We need to help children develop in the following six areas: Print awareness, vocabulary, print motivation, narrative skills, phonological awareness and letter knowledge. Picture book reading provides children with many of these reading-readiness skills.

Print Awareness is knowing how we follow the written words on a page and how to handle a book. Parents can help by reading aloud everyday. Following the words with your finger as you read and pointing to new words.

Vocabulary is knowing the names of things. Parents can help by talking with your child, tell them the names of new things. Use creative descriptions.

Print motivation is a child's interest in and enjoyment of books. Parents can help by having books available to your child everyday.

Phonological Sensitivity (Awareness) is the ability to hear and play with smaller sounds in words. Parents can use rhymes and play with words. Combine two familiar words with each other to make up a new silly word. For instance; combine Duck and Horse to make a Dorse or a Huck.

Narrative skill is the ability to describe things and events and to tell what happened. Parents take turns with your child telling about your day. Use descriptive words.

Letter Knowledge is knowing that every letter has a different name and sound. Parents teach letter names and sounds together. Read alphabet books together. Teach your child to spell their name and sound it out together.

What you do every day gets your child ready to read. So bring your child to the library, choose some books and stop by one of our programs. It can help you teach your child to love reading, and make your child's day more fun, so get ready to flap, jump and shimmy to early reading skills.