Promoting print awareness through activities for early literacy development

A crucial aspect of learning to read is developing print awareness, which involves understanding that the marks on a page carry meaning and recognizing that print is an integral part of our daily lives. Reading and writing are interconnected skills. Here are some activities, ideas, and books designed to enhance print awareness and writing abilities.

Developing fine motor skills is an essential first step in writing and printing. These skills aid in holding pens, pencils, and crayons effectively. Books with finger trails can make this process enjoyable by introducing children to tracing. Parents can also draw basic shapes or letters for their children to trace over with a pencil, marker, or even their finger.

Additional simple activities to improve fine motor skills include peeling and placing stickers, ripping paper, stringing cereal like Cheerios or Froot Loops onto a string, and building with blocks.

Encouraging children to scribble and draw serves as a precursor to writing actual letters. This activity helps them become comfortable with gripping a writing utensil. Parents can draw shapes on paper for their child to trace or add their own shapes to create pictures together. They can then ask the child what they have drawn – perhaps it's a monster or a robot – allowing them to create stories through art.

Incorporating print into pretend play demonstrates its presence in everyday life. For instance, if a child has a play kitchen or pretends to cook, parents can make menus together. Whether written by the parent or scribbled by the child without using real words or letters, these menus can be transformed into grocery lists, game instructions, etc. Another option is forming letters with playdough, sand, or nature finds.

For more inspiration and early literacy information, parents are encouraged to explore specific books at children's desks during library visits or check out KCPL’s Early Literacy page along with other blog posts about literacy.

"Happy reading!" concludes Lisa Clark, Youth Collection Librarian.