Hi Parents! I am excited to share with you some fun tips of how you can incorporate literacy into your everyday routines this summer to help prepare your children for kindergarten. Beginning to read is a key component in your child’s development.
Environmental Print is printed material that is part of your everyday life. There are tons of great games and activities that you can do with environmental print with your kids. When you are driving around town talk to your kids about the different signs they see and see if they can name different restaurants or businesses based on their signs.
Attach pictures and logos of your children’s favorite places to their blocks. Help them create a town using their favorite things. They can be creative and make up an imaginary town or they can try to duplicate what they see in their own town. Either way, this is a great way to introduce print concepts to your child. If blocks are not your child’s thing, use large Lego’s or ad signs to their Matchbox cars and trucks.
When you go to the grocery store, see if your kids can find their favorite foods based on their logos or environmental print. Create a visual list for your kids to use to help grocery shop. To do this, save the empty boxes of cereal, crackers, etc. Then cut out the labels and tape them to a piece of paper. Your kids will have to recognize the label of the food and find the matching food in the store.
Use their favorite toys (Lego’s, Barbie, Batman, etc) and create a matching game for them by taking a Toys 'R Us circular and cutting out the labels and matching them to the picture of the actual toy. This same game can be done with food labels and pictures.
Create an environmental print book for them to read. Use boxes and bags from your kitchen and punch holes in them and tie them with string. Your children can create their own environmental print in your house by labeling things that are important to them.
Environmental print is such a great learning tool for your children because it is everywhere and they can have learning experiences everywhere! Take some time to look at the video and help your child identify all the signs for Moser the Monkey.
Be on the look-out for next week’s post for parents on how to help your child prepare for their first day of kindergarten.
[Image of Walmart logo] n. d. Retrieved from http://www.fatwallet.com/Walmart-coupons/
[Image of Target logo] n. d. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation
[Image of McDonald's logo] n. d. Retrieved from http://rrrotoku.com/2012/07/08/power-rangers-super-samurai-headed-back-to-mcdonalds-this-fall/mcdonalds-logo/
[Image of Youtube video] n. d. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnaGQxlggp8
All other images, photographs and environmental print game images provided by Kathryn Cushwa, Erwin Road Children's School Durham, NC.
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