Early Years Literacy

1. Reading helps children’s brains to develop and grow. 90% of a child’s brain is formed within the first five years of life.
2. Reading to children helps them learn to talk and to learn new words.
3. Reading gives them a head start.
4. Reading makes it easier for children to start school.
5. Reading to children can also help with things like creativity, problem solving, imagination, and numeracy.
6. It’s fun! If it’s not fun for both of you, make changes until it is!
7. Great for bedtime routines.
8. You can take a book anywhere!
9. A book might be able to help you turn away a tantrum.
10. It’s special time you can spend with your child.

Singing helps children to develop.

Many parents sing to their babies, but many also tell us that they stop singing once their children start talking. In many ways this is a shame, as music, song and rhyme are so wonderful for both babies AND children. You don’t have to be a good singer — your kids think you’re a rock star! Songs can help children to build up the foundations of early and pre-literacy skills, which will help them learn to read and develop language skills. Here are ten reasons why:

1. Songs split up the syllables (small parts) of words so children can hear them better.
2. Music helps memory and activates more parts of the brain than speaking alone.
3. Movement and gestures, which accompany songs, are helpful for motor skills development.
4. Songs give children new words and ideas, including some rare words (e.g. “twinkle”).
5. Children need to understand and recognise pitch. Singing helps them to develop this skill. Pitch is an important part of language and communication. You can change the whole meaning of a word or sentence by changing the pitch (for example, your voice goes up when you ask a question).
6. Repetition, rhythm and rhyme help them to learn new words, recognise sound patterns, and encourage children to join in.
7. Use songs to help narrative skills (children’s ability to tell stories). Many songs are just simple stories. Encourage older children to tell you what came first, second and last in songs, or to tell you about what happened in a song.
8. Songs can also be also very calming, or a good distraction, when a child is upset or bored.
9. Make it up! Children can make up songs, which encourages them to use their language skills.
10. Teach a routine (for example sing “this is the way we brush our teeth” or just make it up).

Scaffolding language

Imagine that your child builds language and literacy skills in much the same way that we build a house. To build a house you need lots of things, including mortar, bricks, foundations, and a frame. So to build literacy skills you need words, grammar, an understanding of letters, and an understanding of the way words work, look, and sound. You also need scaffolding, or support, so that the “house” can be built properly.

Here’s an example of how you could scaffold language. It’s not actually as tricky as it sounds. You can even try simply repeating what your child says and adding some more words. Use this tip when reading, or at any time. For example:

Adult: “What’s this?” Child: “Ball!”

Adult: “Yes, good job! We can see a beautiful green ball!”

Or:

Child: “Monkey swinging!”

Adult: “yes, that’s right! Monkey is swinging from tree to tree, backwards and forwards!”

Repeating the word helps them to learn it, the same way it would help you if you were learning a new language. Adding more words helps them to understand more about the way words work together and learn some new words.

You can also scaffold language by helping your child find the words to describe something when they are stuck. Use the words they know as well as the words they don’t know. In this example, your child’s balloon has popped. You’re aware that they know the word “broke” but they are struggling to describe what happened as they don’t know “popped” or “burst”:

Adult: “Oh no, the balloon broke! It popped! It popped and went BANG!”

• Let children choose the books they want to hear. They will be more likely to listen if they have some input, just as you would be if you were in their place. If you’re at the library, try picking a large selection of books and letting them choose from this selection. That way you can find the right books for their age and also given them some input.
• Read it again and again and again and again! Most children seem to “fall in love” with particular books and want to hear them over and over again. This is an important part of their learning so try not to discourage them (or let it drive you crazy!). Think of new games you can play with their favourite stories. You could leave words out; get them to “read” it to you; see if they can work out when to turn the page; or find words, letters or pictures on the pages. Get it wrong (deliberately) and wait for your child to correct you. Sing the story or act it out! Introduce new, complicated words that relate to the story – discussing the illustrations is a great way to do this.
• Follow their interests when you are selecting books. Even tiny babies have definite likes and dislikes! If they have a favourite toy teddy, for example, see if you can find books about teddies. If they love the garbage truck, see if you can find books with trucks in them.
• Letting children join in when you read the story is key. Let them show you how much they understand. Give them lots of time to answer questions and try changing the words you use to ask the question rather than giving them the answer. It’s not a test — it’s a conversation. Celebrate their correct answers or attempts with cuddles and praise.
• The Three Ps: Pace, Pitch and Projection are every good storyteller’s best friends. Think about how your voice sounds when you read and try to add some drama (even to simple stories). Change the speed — FAST or SLOW to follow the action, HIGH or LOW voice for different emotions or characters, and LOUD or SOFT to work in with the story you’re telling. Doing these things can help children to understand the story as well as making the story more interesting to listen to!

• Read every day. You don’t need to read a hundred books; just three a day will make a huge difference.
• Let children help you turn the pages. Children love being involved in a story by helping out. This will also help them to understand more about how the book words. It might take a while for them to understand when the page needs to be turned, so be patient and give lots of hints. Older children (3+) will also benefit from the simple trick of running your finger underneath the words as you read.
• Keep some books within reach. Start teaching children how to take care of books and allow them to enjoy books in their own way, in their own time. You might want to start with hard cardboard “board” books, cloth books, homemade books, or cheap books from the op shop. Just accept that in the beginning, some will be destroyed! If that happens, talk about it gently and explain what’s happened and how to look after the book properly. It will take some practice, but once they understand more about how to handle books, you can leave other books in their room, or their special spot. You could try making a special book box with stickers or pictures on it.
• Talk to your child all the time — even if they can’t talk back. Point to things and tell your child what they are, even if they are really tricky words or concepts. Words in books are important but words in the world are critical! All of this will help your child start to understand and communicate.

Narrative skills

Narrative skills are an important part of language development. Narrative skills relate to children’s ability to:

• Retell stories
• Describe events and objects
• Order and sequence events (what happened first, second, third… last!)
• Predict events (what will happen next?).

You can help to build children’s narrative skills by:

• Asking open questions that need to be answered in whole sentences, rather than “yes” or “no” questions. Examples include “why did he do that?” “how did that happen?” “tell me about….”. Remember to give them plenty of time to answer you and to keep the tone conversational — it’s not a test!
• Giving lots of explanations and background knowledge. Try to encourage their natural curiosity.
• Asking order and sequence questions, such as “what happened first?” “what made that happen?” or “what will happen next?”. You can do this after storytelling, or use a familiar song.
• Encouraging children to help tell the story or song, tell it to you, or make up a new story! If they are keen to tell you a story, you could even write it out with them and draw some pictures.
• Acting out the story or song with toys or other props. Help your child to join in.
• Using stories without words and encouraging children to tell you what’s happening in the pictures, or create their own story based on the pictures.

You may have heard a variety of different opinions about when children need to know their letters, how important it is, and what understanding letters really means.

Some things to keep in mind:

• The best learning for children age 0–5 comes through play — not from forcing your child to memorise or recite by rote.
• Your best sources of information will usually be the people who aren’t trying to sell you things. Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Nurses, kindergarten teachers or legitimate information websites (e.g. Raising Children) are good places to start. If you’re worried about your child’s development, speak to a professional.
• One of the main ways we work out which letter is which is by noticing the shape of the letter. So it’s important to start exploring different shapes when you play with your child, and to notice the similarities and differences. “Same” and “different” is an important concept to teach.
• It’s important to make a start, but don’t expect miracles. Many children won’t truly make the connection from letters to their sounds until around age 5 and that’s perfectly normal. At ages 3 and 4, focus on fun and start to introduce the concept of letters gently. It’s important that children understand that letters are the building blocks that make up words, that letters are different to each other and that letters have different sounds, even though they may not have a full understanding of what letter has which sound. Play until they understand a few letters, such as the first letter in their name, but don’t feel that they need to know everything before kindergarten. Follow their lead and keep involving letters in everyday play.
• Alphabet books can be really boring, but they are useful. You can let your child choose the letters they are interested in when you read one, or try turning any storybook into an alphabet book by finding letters together and emphasising particular shapes. Point out the letters in your child’s name, in books and when you see them in daily life — these will most likely be their favourite letters and the ones they learn first!

Children copy what they see, and they are interested in what’s around them. Children who regularly see parents and caregivers reading for pleasure are much more likely to enjoy reading themselves, especially boys seeing male role models reading.

• Read books, newspapers, magazines, or whatever your preference is where your children can see you. Let them know that you’re looking forward to your reading time, and that it’s a treat, not a chore! Even very young children pick up on what is being modelled by their parents.
• If you read primarily ebooks, make a point of letting your children know that you are reading, as it’s much harder for them to see. Consider using a dedicated ereader device, if budget allows, so that they can see straight away what you’re doing. Talk about the books and authors that you read, in an age-appropriate way.
• If you read at night when the children are in bed, or if you don’t have much time for reading at the moment, make a point of showing your children how much you enjoy and look forward to reading. Talk about what you’re reading, or books you’ve read in the past; take a book with you on holidays, even if you don’t get a chance to read it; make sure you always borrow something for yourself when you come to the library, even if you know it’s not going to be read.
• The whole extended family can be involved in nurturing a love of reading. Spend time with aunties, uncles, grandparents, and friends who take joy in reading, and talk about favourite books together as a family, or look at recipe books together. Maybe you can have storytime with Grandma over Zoom!
• Have lots of books available at home for children to access, made up of your own books, a selection from the library, or both! Visit the library regularly and make finding new books a fun part of your routine. Having easy access to books makes it much easier to pick up the reading habit.
• Read aloud to your children every day, and keep doing this even as they get a bit older and start to read by themselves. It is invaluable bonding time, it helps them become great readers, and it also shows them how much you value reading.

This is a free service for all families in Banyule with children from birth to school age.

They can help you understand if your child is healthy, whether their development is on track, check your health, give you breastfeeding tips, connect you with other new parents, and listen and refer you to other services.

Your Maternal and Child Health (MCH) nurse is a friendly face and a health and wellbeing expert. If you are new to the area and have children between birth and 4 years, they would like to hear from you. Please contact them on 03 9457 9990 to make an appointment.

Banyule Maternal and Child Health

The Nillumbik Maternal and Child Health service is staffed by maternal and child health nurses who provide support for families with young children in Nillumbik. All nurses have qualifications in general nursing, midwifery and maternal and child health.

After the birth of your child a nurse will call to arrange to visit you and your baby in your home. After this visit, parents are invited to attend the nearest maternal and child health centre, or the centre of your choice. This is a free service.

Your child's health and development is then monitored at: two and four weeks, eight weeks and four months, eight months and 12 months, 18 months and two years, then three-and-a-half years

Make an appointment online or call 03 9433 3368.

Nillumbik Maternal and Child Health

The Whittlesea Maternal and Child Health Service is free and confidential for all City of Whittlesea families with children from newborn to school age. Staff are Registered Nurses, with additional qualifications in Midwifery and Maternal and Child Health. The service provides ongoing care to improve the health, wellbeing and safety of families, and the learning and development of children.

To make an appointment, call 03 9404 8888 or email mch@whittlesea.vic.gov.au.

Whittlesea Maternal and Child Health

Raising Children is a government website providing high-quality videos and articles from experts on a variety of parenting topics, from pregnancy through to teens.