Literacy Launchpad For Parents

Now that My Little Reader, Isaac, is getting a little bit bigger (he's still not 2 yet), I have decided to begin doing some of my Literacy Launchpad activities at home with him. I will also be working on coming up with some literacy activities designed especially with him in mind, that correlate with some of his favorite books at home (that I don't necessarily use in class).

I'm really excited about this. And it's good motivation to push me out of my normal play routine with him.

Today I pulled out some Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! stuff to play with. He loves this story! I actually checked out the audio version from the library a few weeks ago and he wore that CD out! We listened to it at every meal. And, man, it made my life a lot easier on many days. One particular day, that audio book was what got him to eat his dinner after a very stubborn, drawn-out refusal. "Let's listen to Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! while you eat some bites," I suggested. Once we turned the book on for him, he cleaned his plate without us having to say another word about it to him.

So when I pulled out the stuff for us to play with today, Isaac was thrilled! We used the glue to assemble a couple bunnies. He was all about the glue! I did have to use the stapler too though, since he didn't have the patience to let the glue dry (and neither did I).

Happily gluing away... and snacking. Notice his crackers sitting there next to him in this shot.

Isaac played with the vegetable pieces a little bit, but I was having a hard time getting him as excited about, and as engaged in, that part of the fun. He got kind of stuck on the glue. What's great about doing these activities at home though is that I could leave the pieces out all day and let him play when it struck his fancy.

When we ran out of T.P. rolls, he glued bunny heads onto plain paper. Then he had the bunnies talk to one another... while his kitty looked on.

The whole goal behind this activity (at home and at school) was to retell the story told in the book in a meaningful and engaging manner. I wanted them to really get into the story, focus on the various parts of the story and the structure of it as we retold it.

Isaac did pick up the bunnies and the garden pieces on his own after dinner and as I watched from a far, I could hear him telling the story aloud to himself (his own version of the story). He had the bunnies eating the veggies and then falling asleep in the garden (with snoring sound effects and all).

It made me so happy to see him coming up with his own little narratives. What an important step on the road to literacy! I'm excited to see this skill mature and develop more fully. It has really only begun to bud at this point. But with the way Isaac likes to talk... I think there are many more narratives I'll be hearing in the future! Can't wait!

And I can't wait to share more of these activities with you. I think I will change to a simpler formatting in future posts of this kind, but thanks for bearing with me on this one!