Dear StrongStart families,

Our world is full of print in many different languages. It is usually parents who help children make a connection with letters.  Print can be found on the food packages (every child is able to recognize their favourite snack by making a connection with the picture or parents can point to the first letter of the food name and let kids know what sound it makes). Print is in flyers, newspapers, signs around us, traffic signs, signs and menus (almost every child can recognize M for McDonald’s for example), posters, e- mail and of course, books. Showing your child the many ways the print is used is one of the important ways to support child to learn to read.

Here is an easy activity that can help you and your child learn the fun way.

Cut out the front side of a food package into puzzle pieces, either squares or odd shapes.  As you child is putting together this “puzzle”, talk about the lines letters are made of (“We need to look for another curvy line that will complete a C”).

 

Another way to incorporate fun learning into your everyday life and into children’s meaningful play is to help them set up a store with packages (full or empty) of foods available in your house: egg cartons, yogurt containers etc. Add some pretend money, some adult calculators or cash register, purse and you have an opportunity for your child and you to pretend play. All it takes is for you to draw their attention occasionally to a letter or two:  “Y says /y/ for yougurt”.

Another fun idea is to use empty food containers/tins in sensory play (filling them with beans, rice, salt, whatever you have handy). Children of all ages will have fun filling them out, measuring etc.  Again, while they play make a short and quick connection to few letters they see. The learning will be meaningful in the context of their play, rather than tedious.

Another activity for older children might be to make their own “booklet”. Staple few papers together in a booklet and let your child cut-out and paste pictures from flyers, newspapers, or magazines into their booklet. They will have fun “reading “to you from this booklet (making a connection with pictures and initial letters of the words.)

Have fun together. More about print in the community in our next post.

Ms. Lillian