1. 1 Meghan Engaged in Literacy at 18 months of age

2. 2 Beliefs About Emerging Literacy All children benefit and have the right to participate in reading, writing, speaking, and listening experiences.

3. 3 Beliefs About Emerging Literacy Cont… Begins at home Includes reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills Is interrelated Is a gradual process Is developed through relevant experiences and within appropriate environments Needs to be modeled at home and school

4. 4 Emerging Literacy Begins at Home Literacy is more than books Put books in childrens hands early on Everything is purposeful Provide a print rich environment Demonstrate how printed words relate to daily life Value books within the home and classroom

5. 5 Meghan reading a book at bedtime Meghan turning the music book pages for a friend

6. 6 Home Literacy Activities A childs daily life is full of literacy activities and events, for example: Bedtime stories Calendar of activities TV guide Cards Menus Storytelling Highlight print at home (cartons, labels, newspapers, magazines, etc.) Grocery lists Singing songs in the car Exploring books on own Reading traffic signals, billboards, etc. Books on tape Cultural readings Cooking activities Ask open ended questions

7. 7 Quilt Information Woven by Members of Meghans Preschool Team Materials for this presentation from the CONNECTIONS Project: Learning Communities for All Children, California Institute on Human Services, SSU

8. 8 Let us put our heads together And See what life we will make for our children. Tatanka Iotanks (Sitting Bull, Lakota)