Promote Reading at Home

There are a lot of ways we can encourage literacy in our own homes. Even some of the simplest things can pave the way to creating readers, as well as a lifelong joy of learning in our children. Simply coloring can help build great pre-reading/writing skills in your child. Having plenty of pencils, crayons and paper around for your child to draw or practice (even pretend) writing is an easy way to encourage building these important skills. Other ideas include:

• Play with alphabet letters.
  
• Practice writing in sand.
  
• Provide objects for pretend play - puppets, dress-up clothes, cardboard boxes, books...
  
• Read-aloud and write recipes with your child.

There are many other simple, inexpensive ways to help prepare your child for eventually learning to read and write. Many books in the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library can help you find fun, age-appropriate activities to build these skills with your young child.

Wondering if your home is already literacy-friendly?
GetReadytoRead.org has a home-literacy checklist for you. If you are a family child care provider, they also provide a child care literacy checklist.