Empower Communication Services

FACT FRIDAY 1You can teach your child how to read without actually having the words or letters in front of them TRUE- Once a child knows all their letter names and sounds, you can work on reading by visualizing the letters. There are other skills that a child will need in order to be a successful reader, but you can start to blend sounds and make words just by talking about them with your child. For example, you can say "What does C --- A --- T spell?" then, "What h...appens if you erase the C and add an M?". 2Children who are read to daily hear over 200,000 more words than children who are not read to daily TRUE- Children who are read a minimum of one book a day are exposed to over 200,000 more words than children who are not read to daily. This is significant! Reading books to your child not only exposes them to literacy skills, but also helps to develop their language and vocabulary skills! 3You shouldn't read the same book over and over again. You should try to diversify and add new books to your child's library. FALSE- The more we engage with a story, the more we take away from it. When kids listen to the same story multiple times, they pick up new information, have a greater understanding of the vocabulary and the main ideas of the book, and make connections between themselves and the story as well as connections between the book and other books they've heard. And now you know!

You can start introducing letter names and sounds early through play! Here are some suggestions that you can use to expose children to literacy at home: 1Use play dough to make letters- talk about the letter names and sounds. ... 2Grab a baking sheet and flour or rice- line the baking sheet with flour/rice and use your finger to write letters! 3Play with magnet letters and spell out your child’s name! 4Use a flashlight and cut out letters to project letter shadows on the wall! 5Spell your child’s name in an old cardboard box and park cars on each of the letters in their name as you say their sound!

Teaching phonics is ONE area of literacy! It’s usually the most talked about and most known area, but it’s not the ONLY area of literacy (we will discuss all the other areas next week). But let’s review phonics to start! Phonics is the identification and use of letter sounds to read and write words or as we know it- teaching the ABCs! It involves matching the sounds with individual letters or groups of letters (e.g. the sound k can be spelled as c, k, or ck depending on t...he context). Written language is like a code in which a child needs to know the sounds of individual letters and how those letters sound when they’re combined to decode words when they read. Understanding phonics will also help children know which letters to use when they are writing words.

When picking books for your little ones, here are a few suggestions and the reasoning behind these suggestions. Board books- these books are easier for a child hold and turn pages in. The pictures and words are usually larger as well. Also, board books don’t wreak as easily! Interactive books (touch and feel, lift the flaps). These books allow a child to explore and interact with the book and you! These books are usually fun and interesting!... Books with big pictures and few words. These books allow a child to point to pictures and talk about they are interested in! Books that are repetitive! Books that have a pattern/repeat words and/or phrases are predictable to a child and allow them to take more turns! Some of our favourite books over here are @usborne_books! They have a variety of books for all ages!

Where to start? Here are some things you can do at home to support early literacy development: 1. Point out print in your environment (signs, labels, titles of books, letters and numbers in play and crafts)... 2. Read books together every night 3. Show your child how to spell their name 4. Teach your child the alphabet- letter names and sounds! Did you know that literacy falls under the scope of practice for Speech-Language Pathologists in Canada? We are eager to share our knowledge and training with your child, this is just the beginning! You will begin to see your child reach exciting milestones. Use this opportunity to bond with your child as they enter into the amazing world of literacy!

LITERACY Children begin learning literacy before they can even read! That’s why it’s extremely important to begin working on literacy early. These skills do not magically develop. If a child is not taught literacy skills, they will not innately learn them on their own. The early years are critical to developing reading skills, so read with your children every night, and start teaching literacy now! Literacy is not only reading, it encompasses so many other things! Did you k...now literacy levels and income are strongly linked?* Children who are read to once a day will hear 290 000 more words by age 5 than those who aren’t read to?** That reading for fun can lead to many emotional benefits and social well-being?*** Read more on the blog about how to start introducing literacy concepts to your child today! {Link in bio}