Make reading with your child a part of your daily routine.
When reading with your child, stop periodically to discuss the content of the text including pictures. This promotes reading comprehension.
After reading a story with your child, immediately engage them in retelling the story (with your support).
Provide a wide variety of books.
Obtain a library card for your child at the Ennis Public Library.
Give your child books as presents.
Limit the amount of time your child watches TV and/or plays video games.
Encourage your child to draw pictures and tell a story about their drawings.
Accept your child's pretend reading.
Point out print in the environment (signs, cereal boxes, etc.).
Make signs and labels for objects.
Provide materials (crayons, pencils, paper) and a space for writing.
Provide opportunities for your child to scribble and draw. Scribbling is early writing.
Have a place to display your child's writing efforts.
Provide magnetic letters for your child to practice forming words.
Let your child see you read and write.
Encourage your child to recognize their first name in print.
Sing familiar songs.
Teach your child nursery rhymes.
Focus on your child's strengths and celebrate their accomplishments.
Set up a routine or sequence for personal care and other daily routines.
Take with your child about what interests him or her.
Use open-ended questions that have more than one answer such as "What do you think?" and "How would you feel?"
Encourage language development by listening carefully to your child and encouraging two-sided conversations.
Play rhyming games.
Get down on eye level and show your interest. Encourage other family members to listen.
Provide age-appropriate toys that require thinking (puzzles, blocks, or sorting toys).
Foster creativity.
Provide experiences with scissors such as cutting pictures from a magazine.
Provide opportunities to use crayons, markers, pencils, and glue.
Save scraps, bits, boxes, and other things from around the house to use for building and other creative experiences.
Let your child set the table and count objects around the house such as plates and forks for the table, crackers for snacks, etc.
Provide opportunities to compare objects.
Play games with your child using directions such as: "Put the ball under the chair."
Allow your child time to himself/herself.
Provide opportunities for your child to experiment with balls, tricycles, and jump ropes.
Set expectations for behavior and consequences.
Help your child to develop appropriate skills for learning by following directions, attending to a speaker, and getting an adult's attention appropriately.
Most importantly, enjoy your child!

Carver Early Childhood Center