Click here for a presentation to support your child’s early literacy skills. This is aimed primarily at Nursery parents but the ideas are also relevant for those with children in P1/2/3.
Here are three leaflets which show how favourite family books can support lots of learning at home. These are suitable for Nursery, P1 and P2 children. Lots of P3s will also enjoy them. The leaflet has a link to a video of the book so that you can use this even if you don’t own the book. Click on the title to access the leaflet.
The Hungry Caterpillar Family Learning
A great way to support your child’s literacy development is to make lots of opportunities to enjoy stories with them and to talk about the characters and events. You can use books you have at home or access these online stories:
Lakshmi and the Clever Washerwoman
Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock
Handa’s Surprise (this content is on YouTube and parents are advised to watch it first to check for ads and pop ups)
The Colour Monster (this content is on YouTube and parents are advised to watch it first to check for ads and pop ups)
The Day the Crayons Quit (this content is on YouTube and parents are advised to watch it first to check for ads and pop ups)
You can stop part way and ask them to guess what might happen next and afterwards you can ask them to tell you what happened or to draw a picture. Once you have enjoyed the story you can use the text to looks for sounds or words which your child knows. The BBC videos have an audio transcript under the play button so that your child can follow the text if they are able and look for words and sounds they know. Nursery children might spot a sound from their name in the story and P1s and 2s will begin to spot the sounds they have learnt and common words. Once your child’s reading begins to develop, they might be able to read a little bit to you or you can read it together. Keep it fun and enjoy stories together – this will be time well spent. You can also look for sounds and words in real life contexts e.g. on packets or in a newspaper or out and about on road signs and notices.
When young children (Nursery, P1, 2, 3) write at home, it is best to follow their interests. Make sure they have access to pens, pencils and paper and encourage them to write in real context e.g. making a list. Nursery children will likely make marks as part of their play. As they get older, their writing will become recognisable but don’t worry or put pressure on them. They might enjoy writing about something they’ve done or writing a story. Follow their interests and allow them to write for fun – if its starts to feel like a chore, its time to have a break.
