Literacy

Newsletter

A compilation of
activities and
games for families
to enjoy together.

The more that you read, the more that you will know. The
more that you learn, the more places youll go - Dr. Seuss

Activities to enjoy together at

Activities to use in the
car:
-I spy letters
-eBooks/Audio books
Turn to page 3 for more
home
1. Children recognize items based on what they look like. To
increase literacy, have your child label some items around the
house so they can see not only the item, but also what the word
looks like. Talk to your child about the letters in each word and
what the word starts with.

information. 3 Example: Television starts with T. T says /t/. What other

letters are in this word?

Use some of the labels in the kit for your child to place around
Increase literacy your home.
when reading
together:
2. *Write letters, cards, or lists together. When children see the
- Look at the cover
adults in their lives writing notes, cards,
- Look at print size
and letters they realize their importance.
Page 4 has all the
Let your child look at your list, cards, notes
details 4 and read them together, have your child
- dictate a list for you to write for them or have
them try to write their own list, card, or
letter. 1
*Reference: Farmers Wife Rambles
 Literacy Newsletter LLC Families

3. *Letter scavenger hunt:

Use the letters in the kit
and have your child pick
one at random. Place the
letter card down and
together find items around
the house that start with
that letter.

Example: Letter C

-car (toy)
-Captain America
-carrot

Practice saying the letter

sound together while looking
at the letter card and the
selected item.

Activities to enjoy at home together

4. Recognizing their Name: *Rhyming Cards:
Label items belonging to your child with Have your child clip the clothes pin to the
their name so they can recognize their picture that sounds the most like the
items at home. You can label their books, picture above.
toys, or cups so they can recognize the
Example: Can sounds like Fan.
letters in their name. When they use an
item with their name printed on it, have Lets look at the
them recognize the letters and spell out picture
their name.
Can
Can you find
5/6. Rhyming: the word that
rhymes? Lets
Rhyming is a challenging concept for
read them. Can, cat. Can, cap. Can, fan.
children. Try using nursery rhymes by
putting emphasis on the rhyming words cat
and the rhyming cards in the kit to help
No, that one doesnt sound the same at
acclimate your child to the process of
the end. How about this one Can, fan?
rhyme. Nursery rhyming songs:
Can, Fan!
- The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle
Little Star, Five Little Monkeys, Hickory Again, this can be challenging. If they choose the
wrong word, correct them. They are learning.
Dickory Dock, Humpty Dumpty, etc.

2 2
*References: Crayon Freckles and The Measured Mom, LLC
LLC Families
9. Questions to
support reading
comprehension
If your childs eBook or Book on
tape is audible to you while you
drive, try to ask your child
questions about the story they
just read. You should try to ask
questions that need more of a
response than yes or no. In the
popular story The Hungry
Caterpillar, you might ask:
-What types of food did the
hungry caterpillar eat?
-What happened after the
caterpillar ate all that food?
-Have you ever had an upset
tummy like the Hungry
caterpillar after eating too much?
How did you feel better?
-What animal did the
caterpillar turn into? What did he
look like?
-When did you last see a
butterfly?
Literacy Newsletter
Activities to Try in the Car
7. I Spy Letters: On the way home from school, to the
grocery store, or to the park play I spy letters with your
child/children. You can start by saying,
Can you see anything that starts with the letter M? Things
that start with m say mmm. McDonalds
This encourages your child to think about letter sounds and
make connections between objects/things/places and the
letter that they start with. A good letter to start with is the
letter of their first name.
8. eBooks/Books on Tape:
The Delaware County library system offers eBooks that
families can download onto their smart phones and iPads.
All you need is your library card. The narration reads the
book and highlights the words as the narrator says them. It
even turns the page for you so all your child has to do is
listen and follow along!
If your car still has a CD drive, you can have your child
follow along with books on tape. The CD reads the book
for them and makes a specific noise to let your child know
when to turn the page so you can concentrate on driving
and your child, hopefully, stays occupied in the backseat.
Some popular eBooks that are available at the Havertown
Library are:
- Llama Llama Gram and Grampa
- Curious George
- Bernstein Bears
- Happy!
- Star Wars
- Dr. Seuss Books
Website:
https://delco.overdrive.com/library/kids
33
 Literacy Newsletter LLC Families

Reading Books Together at Home

10. Exploring the Book:

When reading a book with your child, explore the book in its
entirety. Have your child first identify where the front cover is and
then look at the front cover and look at a few of the pages in the
book and talk about it. If it is a new book, they can make
predictions about what the book will be about. You can ask: 13. Print:
Why do you think the letters are in this tree?
While reading stories like
(Chicka Chicka Boom Boom) Froggy, the mother usually
shouts Froggys name and the
You can also read the authors name and explain that that person author uses a large font. Model
wrote the story that you will read together. and explain to your child that
large print usually means getting
louder while you read. Have
your child help you with saying
11. Recognize Reading Strategies:
anything in large font as you
Before reading, ask your child to show you where you would start read. This is a connection
reading on that page. You can say, between print and spoken
language.
Can you show me where we start to read on this page?

It is important for children to recognize that we begin reading from

the left and read across to the right. You can model this as you
read the words on the page. 14. Relating
Stories to Your
Childs Life
When you and your child read a
story together, see if your child
can make any connection from
what they read to their life. If
reading a book about being a
big brother/sister, you may say:

12. Re-Reading:
Who do you know whos a big
Re-read familiar stories. Reading a book multiple times allows a brother/sister?
child to recognize the vocabulary used within the book. The more
times the book is read, the more clear the vocabulary in the story *Personal connections may
becomes to your child. help children to compare the
story to their own lives, and, in
You can also point out rhyming words in stories that have been doing so, understand the
read multiple times. If your child memorizes a story, you can have characters situation and
them say the rhyming word before you do while reading together. anticipate how the story

4
might unfold.
4
*References: Jodi Nickel
LLC Families Literacy Newsletter

Hi Families,

First I would just like to thank you so much for your participation in my research.
It was so nice to see so many familiar names on the forms that you turned in!
This Literacy Newsletter will be your guide to help increase literacy for your
child/children at home. Here are a few tips:

1. There are 14 activities in this newsletter. You do not have to try/complete

all 14 activities in the next two weeks. Feel free to try a handful or continue
to use an activity multiple times if you and your family find it enjoyable!
2. The activities/games are listed by number on the newsletter and those
numbers correspond with the few activities that are in the literacy bag.
3. Do not worry if there are some items in the newsletter that your child has
not practiced or learned yet. The kits are there to help your child learn
these skills.
4. Not all children are going to know letter sounds in preschool. This
typically is not taught until kindergarten. However, by making the letter
sound for your child with these activities/games, your child will be hearing
those sounds and in turn learning that letters make sounds, which goes a
long way in their learning process.
5. Have fun! These activities are there for your family to complete together
and you should not put pressure on your child to learn these skills right
away.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call, text, or email me at:
(610) 506 1917
charlenemcgarvey@yahoo.com

Charlene McGarvey
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