I am a huge reader and have always been. I’m really trying to encourage both my 16 month old and 4 yr old to enjoy reading as well. I actually recently started a second blog called Non-Creative Mom (http://noncreativemom.wordpress.com) to chronicle activities and ideas of things I do with my kids. One big focus is books and related activities. We’ve done Rhyming Dust Bunny flash cards, made our own planets based off of the book Eight Spinning Planets, created our own “ocean” based off of I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean and more. It really gets my daughter even more involved and excited about the books we read and encourages her to learn skills like rhyming and sounding out words.

Promoting early literacy can be as simple as taking part in a daily storytime. Read to the kids and allow time for discussion to promote reading comprehension and understanding as well as literacy and a lifetime of reading enjoyment.

I think more people need to encourage reading at early ages. With all the technological advancements, kids have great options. Whether eReaders, computer games, iPad app, etc.; there is really no reason for illiteracy.

Early literacy is vital! A parent is a child’s first teacher and every day can be a teaching moment. From running errands around town and singing the Alphabet song in the car to pointing out letters on items on the grocery store shelf… learning moments are everywhere!!! Instilling a love of reading at a very early age is fundamental to a successful academic path. My favorite time of day is cuddling up with a book before bedtime with my kids!!! <3

The Kindergarten team at my school conducts Learning Parties for preschool families. They take place over 12 evenings and families are given advice on ways to help their children learn at home. We provide a meal, give the parents the info while the children have time to socialize. They get back together to practice the strategies and then go home with the materials!

In my community, Head Start is promoted and encouraged. Almost everyone asks about it if a child is of an appropriate age. My son just turned 5 and is in the head start program and I am so amazed by his progress. My older son was also in a pre K program and is not considered gifted in reading. The value of pre K programs are priceless!!

I love to read and I believe it is important to teach children the love of books from an early age. We have daily reading time in our family and I always give our favorite board books as “new baby” gifts.

As a children’s librarian, I work to incorporate elements of early literacy in every storytime – identifying letters, hearing rhymes, letter sounds, and such. I also explain what we’re doing so that all the parents can understand how this helps the children’s pre-reading skills, and simple things they can do to work on early literacy at home. I also tell the parents and kids that the most important thing they can do is to read together.

Debbie Dillar literacy work stations and RTI? Need I say more? IT WORKS!

My sons are 3 and 4 years old. We are helping them develop a love of reading/ literacy by reading to them daily. We find books on topics they are interested in like cranes and firetrucks. We then ask them follow-up questions to help with reading comprehension skills.

Here in our little town in NE Indiana a local church has started a program in the summer that tutors elementary students in reading, and we are looking to branch out and make available a number of story times over the summer months and open them up to preschoolers and of course their parents. We are small and just starting out (last summer was the first summer) but we have high hopes for the children of our community! Apparently we’ve already had our first success story! A 4th grade boy who was in the program, for the first time EVER passed with flying colors the reading portion of his state mandated tests! His mother was so excited that she e-mailed the group and thanked us for our time and work with both of her children! Hopefully opening this up to younger, preschoolers will eliminate or at the very least reduce the need for the tutoring program in years to come!

Garsy

Our local library has weekly story time for all ages of preschool children (babies, toddlers, preschool). The preschool class had a “letter of the day” and each book, song, puppet, etc was centered around it. The kids were sent home with a coloring sheet that included the words to the songs and a list of the books read, etc. It was WONDERFUL and my son absolutely loved it and learned so much! I am very grateful to our librarian! Also instrumental in learning the letters & sounds were Leapfrog DVDs. They can also be checked out at the library. Parents need to share what they know with other parents who may not realize what is available to them. I always mention these things when I strike up a conversation with another mom. EVERYTHING we do in life involves reading, so it is critical that you know how to read well!

I read to my kids from birth…the best early ready program there is! I also read in my girls’ classroom whenever I get the change, help out with book fairs and give books to the classrooms!

I am a huge supporter of our local library and my kids school library. Last year we we rocked summer reading and with our Girl Scout Troop we collected over 100 books in a school wide book swap for summer reading.
Reading and Early Literacy is so important for everyone. Getting books into the hands of babies is so amazing to watch. Reading is such a fundamental part of our human experience and finding ways to help and encourage kids to read is paramount to me and in my family.

We read everyday- no matter what! We also attend library story hours in our town library and school. At home, we play with flashcards, have labels on everything, and have several audio books as well!

I read to my kids – I started reading a book out loud each night when we were trying to conceive. Both love books – my older daughter is now getting in to chapter books. My younger daughter has books in her crib that she is loving to death. I took them to story time each week at our local bookstore until it closed.

We make a trip to our library a few times a month and donate books to both the public library and the school library. We also donate books to our daughter’s classroom. We have also donated books and pajamas to the Pajama Program in the past. The Pajama Program is a program that provides children in need with a warm pair of jammies and a book.

I know our local library promotes literacy with a reading contest in the summer as well as a variety of programs ranging from reading to a therapy dog to “Books for Babies”. None of these programs cost the participants money, so all they need to do is come to the library.

Our community creates times for dads/children to hang out at school once a month such as pizza/movie/book night to encourage spending time with their children to build relationships with teachers and parents through their children. We have town hall meetings at school to create a bridge and provide opportunities to parents that are invloved in their childs learning.

Our family has run a 3 year long project called Bookie Woogie. (www.bookiewoogie.blogspot.com) Every week for three years we’ve read a book together as a family, discussed the story and art, and blogged about it. Each time, the kids create a piece of fan art and share their own impressions of the book. I poke and prod for responses, but try very hard not to sway their opinions or insights. The result so far is 111 book reviews and over 400 pieces of fan art. The kids have also been able to interview amazing authors like Tony diTerlizzi, Adam Rex, and Laurie Keller. And since everything is blogged, the world wide community is encouraged to follow the example — to read with their kids and talk together about the books they love.

zenzart at hotmail dot com

Reading is my world. I pass this on to my children every time they see me read: every day. We also read together at just about every chance we get. We have a decent sized children’s book collection. We also read while on the go via street signs and such. My daughter gets reading homework every night but we make it a point to make it fun!

Thanks for the giveaway! We’d love some new books to read!

As an early childhood teacher, I understand the importance of early childhood literacy being presented in a meaningful way. Our organization, Meaning Matters, has workshops and free resources in where teachers can get ideas and discuss effective practice of literacy that engages the kids and is relevant to their life experiences.

Early literacy is critical to our students, our children, our society. It is the key ingredient to ending the cycle of poverty. I am a literacy teacher in an urban school district where our students have few if any books at home. Our school lost our library three years ago so the staff went on a book drive. We have started our own library. The kids are checking put books at lunch, befor school, after school etc. We are seeing light blubs go off. We started parent engagement nights to support our parents at home. I applaud what everyone is doing around literacy.

Early literacy is critical to our students, our children, our society. It is the key ingredient to ending the cycle of poverty. I am a literacy teacher in an urban school district where our students have few if any books at home. Our school lost our library three years ago so the staff went on a book drive. We have started our own library. The kids are checking put books at lunch, beforschool, after school etc. We are seeing light blubs go off. We started parent engagement nights to support our parents at home. I applaud what everyone is doing around literacy.

I take my used children’s books to the local laundromats and leave them there, with notes stating that anyone who will read them WITH their children and/ or little brothers and sisters can keep them or borrow them and bring them back to trade for more, etc. I get more used children’s books at the local used book shops to keep replenishing the supplies. I believe that one of the most important ways to increase literary skills in young children is to put books in the hands of ALL families. (This is especially important with lower income families like those who would be using a laundromat, rather than those owning homes with their own laundry equipment.) This way, the little ones see reading being modeled in their homes, learn vocabulary, realize that books are read from front to back by turning pages, learn to follow the pictures, and start to see that the little marks on the pages have meaning. ONLY THEN are the young children interested in learning to read and WANT to find out about the alphabet. (Note, this also addresses family involvement, access to books, etc.) I would TOTALLY LOVE to be able to take $250 worth of board books on my next rounds. I also have been taking books to PTA events, like free movie night and our family health and wellness night. Everyone who came to the events last year received a FREE (used) paperback children’s book of their choice at every function. Then, the principal runs a book trade at school about three times a year, so the kids can trade the books they have read for different books. It takes a village!

I promote literacy when teaching both my students and hosting family nights to help parents learn how to help their child with their reading skills. In my classroom, we sing, use puppets, play games, read poems, and of course read lots of books! I want them to learn they are all able to be wonderful readers!

As a preschool teacher I am always trying to find new ways to promote early literacy and reading both in my classroom and in my student’s home. We recently started a program in conjunction with Head Start, The Spend 10 Challenge. The challenge requires families to spend at least 10 minutes a night reading to their children. If families agree and signed and returned their form they will receive a free book to get the started. The majority of students in my classroom come from low-income homes so instead of toys or candy for holiday gifts I use my Bonus Points from Scholastic and each child receives a book from me as their present.

I help to promote literacy as one of my Rotary Club core focus areas.
We purchase books for children through our local Dolly Parton Imagination Library. We have also collected and donated books to our Homeless Youth program. Can you imagine not having a roof over your head and not having your very own books? Every child should have food, clothing, & shelter – and books to read. We need to focus on preparing children to be successful in school & in life!

Our school is collecting books for local shelters supporting women and children in the Atlanta area. Our families are donating books their children have outgrown and giving them new life! We are so excited about sharing our love of books and the general act of kindness!

I promote Early Literacy in my classroom by providing a “read aloud” time by just reading a book of choice to my students.

Ready! Classes Offered to Parents of Children ages 0-5 for our families in our school district. These are parent classes to help parents prepare their children for learning. The goal is to teach parents how to help their children be successful by the time they reach kindergarten age by helping them set goals for their children’s learning. The targets the School District would like the children to meet are:
Know 12-15 letters and sounds
Repeat ending and beginning sounds
Have a 5,000-word vocabulary
Be able to count, sort and use words that compare
Be able to settle in, focus and follow directions
Parents can attend classes targeted for each year of their child’s life. Parents who attend Ready! classes also receive materials to help their child meet the goals for kindergarten readiness in a fun way. Parents are asked to find 5 minutes to “play with purpose” and 20 minutes to read to their child every day. Classes are offered during the daytime and evening and in both English and Spanish.

As a teacher I give a book to all my students for holidays (not just Christmas, but Halloween, etc).

Our library hosts baby storytimes to introduce children to literacy early. I’d also love to see our community start an initiative to new parents, esp. teen parents to teach them of the importance of reading and how to model reading to young children.