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    BAM! The book flew across the room with a huge thu BAM! The book flew across the room with a huge thud, tears streaming down this 5 year old's face. The teacher looked at me with disbelief so I took the child to investigate a little more. I couldn't imagine what could make this 5 year old so angry with a book. "I can't do it!" he said. My heart broke. This child was frustrated with print and seeing all of his classmates interacting with books didn't help. He'd given up already...at 5 years old. Print motivation is a central component to early literacy. It may not be a critical indicator of reading success or the most important skill, but without it, your child won't care about any of the other skills. It is the pure desire and motivation to want to read or work with print. So if you have a child that may not be as interested in books or learning the alphabet and would rather be doing pretty much anything else, here are some tips to kickstart some interest: 1. Don't force too much too soon. If you're pushing too much on your child before they are ready, the only thing that's going to happen is that you both will end up frustrated. Follow your child's lead. 2. Incorporate print into their existing play. Does your child love to play with their train set or with their dolls? Add some magnetic letters to the mix. Set up a letter store for the dolls to shop at or put some letter road blocks along the train tracks. Make print fun! 3. Be a role model. Show how you read and write in your everyday life. Have your child help you read recipes and write shopping lists. Text a family member with your child and read the responses back. Show how important print is in everyday life without pushing it on your child. I sat with that child for a little bit and explained how just because he can't read the words, it doesn't mean that he can't read. There are so many other ways that he could read a book aside from decoding the print. I sat with him and asked him what was happening in the pictures on each page. He eagerly described what he saw. I shared excitement with him as he finished and congratulated him on doing an amazing job of "reading" that book. His print motivation and confidence went through the roof😆
    Toddlers can be pretty fickle. Out of the same bre Toddlers can be pretty fickle. Out of the same breath, they could want milk, water, and apple juice all at the same time AND get mad when you give them all three. 🤦‍♀️ So when it comes to books? 📚 It can be even more difficult than just choosing the beverage of the moment. These 4 tips can help you choose some books that will support your toddler's development. **Note: books don't have to have all 4 of these characteristics at the same time...these are just suggestions to ensure that your library has a variety of these books available to your child. Try capture their attention with engaging storylines with fun characters or texts with detailed pictures. Interactive stories that have sounds, textures, and other unique features are always a way to capture their fleeting attention spans. As your growing toddler is rapidly increasing their vocabulary, it is important to choose books that have a few words they wouldn't normally hear in everyday conversation. 👂 This will not only support their vocabulary development, but will also lay a strong foundation for early reading! And of course, any book that rhymes is an added bonus to boost those phonological awareness skills (a critical skill that supports reading success!) Want to get really serious about reading with your child? Check out my Ages & Stages Read Aloud Guide that supports you in all stages of reading aloud to your child. Link in profile.
    I’ve been off the grid a bit, but my little one' I’ve been off the grid a bit, but my little one's strep diagnosis through us for a loop during the month of March: 👉2 rounds of antibiotics 👉105 fever that Motrin couldn't even touch 👉Off from daycare for a full week (because you know sick baby does not equal vacation...) 👉Allergy testing Bright side? 😍snuggles for days 😍learned new letters (proud mama!!) 😍bonding for life As challenging as a sick baby can be, there are so many wonderful memories. What are some of yours? Share 'em below👇
    You can say it all you want, but it doesn't change You can say it all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that if they struggled to sound it out the first time, they're probably going to struggle again. 👇 When the good old sound it out method doesn't work with your beginning reader, save the frustration on both sides and try a different approach. Try: 👉Looking at the picture to see if it gives a clue 👉Looking at the first and last letter/sound 👉Looking for common chunks or already memorized parts of words to help them read a new word. Giving your child multiple strategies to persevere when they approach a tricky word will help make them a reader who thrives with a challenge. Share with me below how you help your kiddos become resilient readers!
    Have you ever wondered why learning to rhyme is su Have you ever wondered why learning to rhyme is such an important pre-reading skill? 💙 While not necessarily directly related to decoding, rhyming supports your child in their ability to read a wider range of words with automaticity. They can notice that certain words sound similar, which will help them to identify the similarities in which the ways the words are spelled or structured. This will help them to visually distinguish "chunks" within a word that they know how to read and then be able to apply that knowledge to more words the encounter with the same spelling pattern. This is where word families can come in handy. 📚 Word families are a great way to get your child reading more words with automaticity. An example of a word family is words that end in the same rime such as -ap or -in. There are many small CVC words that all end with these letters. For example, with -at, you have mat, cat, hat, rat, sat, and bat to name a few. Having your child practice identifying and reading multiple words within the same word family are a perfect way to practice beginning reading skills and build confidence in reading simple words. 💙 Learn more about what to teach after you teach the alphabet at the link in my profile: @simplyworkingmama
    Research has shown that reading to young babies st Research has shown that reading to young babies strengthens vocabulary acquisition and early literacy skills. It is never too early to start reading to baby! 📚 Even as infants, your little one is absorbing the language that you use and is making meaningful connections to the language and world around them. In the womb, your baby is hearing your voice and learning all about you, Reading Mama. 📚 Let's talk about one of the most crucial reasons for reading to your child every day. The more you read to your baby, the more language they are hearing. Just as you are encouraged by baby experts now to narrate your day and talk to baby as much as you can, reading books is another way to build an expansive vocabulary. 📚 Why? There is a significant difference in the vocabularies and early literacy skills of children who are often spoken to at home and those that aren’t. This word gap is the reason why experts encourage language to be used consistently directed toward babies…even from when they are born. 📚 What’s great about reading however, is that books contain language that wouldn’t be used in your normal everyday conversations. Therefore, you are exposing your little one to a higher tier of vocabulary, just by reading to them. 📚 So, when thinking about the books your baby can benefit most from, make sure they have the qualities above. You can check out my meticulously curated list of baby books at the link in my profile @simplyworkingmama 👉Make sure to save this post and come back to it!
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