Home Literacy Activities for Kindergarten
When it comes to developing literacy skills begin by creating a literacy rich environment at home. Providing an environment with books and magazines for kindergarten age children is the first step in promoting literacy. Reading, writing and playing games are all literacy activities parents can do at home.
Other People Are Reading
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Read, Read, Read
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An environment where children see an adult reading automatically has a positive influence on them. Read to children as much as possible. Books and magazines create a love for reading. Take kids to the bookstore and library or enroll them in a book club so they receive books on a regular basis. "Children's Books of the Month's" website has many books for children to choose from. Also subscribe to "Highlights," which is a popular magazine for children.
Develop Comprehension
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Comprehension is one of the key areas of reading children struggle with. If the story is being read to them, many don't pay attention and drift off. Others pay attention but can't recall any events from the story. When you're reading, stop to ask questions about the story. This challenges children to pay attention to what's happening in the story. Encourage children to look at the pictures to help them answer questions about the story. Ask questions like who is the story about, what's the problem or where is the story taking place. Also ask open-ended questions to encourage critical thinking skills. Ask questions like why you think the person in the story did that or what you would do if you were the person in the story. After reading the story, ask your child to retell the story.
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Practice Writing
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Many people think of reading when they think about literacy, but writing is also a component of literacy. Reading and writing are skills that are dependent on each other. The better a child reads, the better a writer they will become because children who read well typically write well; both skills should be developed concurrently. Although children at this age are learning their letters and sounds to read, they also can use those letters and sounds to write. Children can begin by writing simple sentences about their favorite food, person, hobby or about a book they've read.
Play Games
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Since children enjoy playing games, this is a way to build literacy skills. Flash cards, sight word games, matching games and Internet games are all things that parents can do at home. Starfall, a free online reading and writing site, has literacy activities children can practice at home. Activities range from phonics activities to reading stories with specific long and short vowel pattern words. Stories allow students to click on the words so the word can be read for them if they cannot sound the word out themselves.
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- Photo Credit mom & son reading one image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.com
