• What is your role as a parent in your children’s learning?
  • You are your children’s “first” and most important teacher.
  • Children need time with you to build confidence and self-esteem.
  • Creating a safe and loving family environment lays the foundation for life-long learning and emotional well-being.
  • Talk with your children and communicate feelings.  When you communicate with your children, children learn:
• how to use language.
• how to communicate.
• how to have a conversation with others.
• Communicating can happen any time and any place . . .
• in the truck
• out on the land
• while doing the chores
• at mealtimes and bedtime
• any time and any place

• Oral Language Development: 
  • Why is oral language development so important?
• Oral language development is the first step in children’s literacy development.
• Before they learn to speak, they need to listen to you talk to learn the rhythm of the language.
• It is through listening and using language that children learn.
  
  
• What can I do to help my children’s oral language development?
• Talk to your children regularly to let them hear the rhythm of the language.  Some good ways to get your children to use language are to encourage your children to join in:
  • rhymes
  • songs
  • finger plays
  • storytelling

   

• Reading:
  • What can I do to help my children learn to read?
    Let them see you reading.
  • Share books together.

• Point out the print that is all around you.  Look at street signs, grocery store labels and posters.
• Make scrapbooks from photos or old magazines.
• Cook together.
  
  
• Steps for reading with your children:
• Choose a book from the library or from your home.  It’s even better if you let your children choose.
• Take turns reading aloud, or tell the story by looking at the pictures.
• Talk about what’s happening in the story.
• Help your children with difficult words.
• Praise your children.

• Writing:

• What can I do to help my children learn to write?
  Let your children watch when you:
  • fill in forms.
    write birthday cards.
    write letters and notes.
    write shopping lists.
• Let your children help you when you are writing by:
  • drawing a picture that goes with what you are writing.
  Let young children scribble and draw. This is the beginning stage of writing.  Pretending to write is OK too.  Start early!
• 
  What Materials will I need to encourage writing at home?
• Make sure you always have writing materials available:
  • lots of paper
  • pens, pencils, crayons and markers
  • scissors and glue
  • old envelopes or greeting cards for kids to copy
  • little blank books for children to create their stories
  • a box to store writing materials

Games/Literacy Activities to Do at Home:

• Why are games and literacy activities important ways to learn?
  Games make learning fun!
  Board and card games help children to match pictures and words.  This is an important reading skill.
  Board games teach visual skills.  They can help your child recognize symbols, signs, letters, understand maps, and so on.
  Games, such as Scrabble, encourage your children to read.
  Games help teach your children important social skills.
  Helping with shopping lists and other notes or cards shows children that writing is purposeful.