Preschool News

Emergent Literacy

In the preschool years we use a method known as emergent literacy to support children's development of reading and writing. We are noticing that the children are showing an interest in print. Some of the children are starting to notice letters and words. All of the children can recognise their own name and are working hard to refine this skill. We use our environment as a way to introduce the beginning skills of literacy by making sure that we have signs around the room that we refer to at different times during the day. The children enjoy wearing the 'Sun Safety Champion' lanyard when it is their turn to take on this role. We talk about the days of the week, the weather and the seasons including Dharawal and European seasons. Recently some of the children have helped to make signs for our compost, chicken scraps and recycling boxes. Other children have helped to make a list of suggested sentences they would like to copy in our writing centre. As we focus on play in the preschool years we use education toys, including puzzles, books and games, to draw the children's attention to letters. This is a great opportunity to discuss letter names, letter sounds and any words that might be familiar. The first words the children are currently noticing are Mum, Dad, zoo, and stop. The children enjoy playing with the letters on the whiteboard and making up words or writing by writing letter-like marks. It is common for young children to play with words both in print and in song or by mimicking reading. Recently the children have been exploring using the paint app on the Commbox and some are showing an interest in typing their own name to help save their work. As a team we are always wondering what the children will surprise us with next!

For more on the importance of storytelling and great literacy activities for preschoolers go to;

https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/play-learning/literacy-reading-stories/telling-stories