Copy and Paste Parent Tips

Oral language is an important early literacy skill.
What it is: Listening and talking – your child can understand what you say, and you and other people can understand your child. It includes knowing the names of things.

How to encourage it:

* Talk with your child throughout the day. Describe what you are doing. Take turns talking, even with your infant. Add information: "Yes, that's a big, black dog."
* Use rhymes, songs, and music to help your child enjoy the sounds of language.
* Tell your own stories. Listen to your child tell a story. Have your child retell a story.
* Read. Read. Read. It's not too early to start at birth. Snuggle together and read aloud. Find books that interest your child. Talk about the story. Ask questions. Explain the words and use those words throughout the day. Have a book ready to read during times when you have to wait.
* Share the reading of the book. Ask your child what is happening. Give feedback: "Yes, it looks like a snake, but it's a caterpillar." Add information: "Caterpillars eat leaves." Ask your child to talk about pictures and ideas in the book and what might happen next. Find letters and words in the book.