5 Literacy Crafts for Your Child

Bilingual Early Education
Learning a second language is good childhood mind medicine

Before your child learns to read and write, they need to develop the building blocks for literacy – the ability to speak, listen, understand, watch and draw. As your child gets older, they need to learn the relationship between letters on a page and sounds. Experts agree that when it comes to facilitating this connection, the earlier the better. And with literacy crafts, it doesn’t have to be boring!

Raising strong readers begins at home, so here are some fun and simple literacy crafts you can do with your little ones to spark their love for the written word: 

1. Connect the dots using letters

This simple craft incorporates basic hand-eye coordination, with letter discernment. All you need is a simple connect-the-dot design, a sheet of paper, and a marker, and your child connects the letters to create a masterpiece.

2. Put a book in a bottle

Read a book with your child, and afterwards create a book bottle which represents the main literary themes of the book. This is a great craft to get your child thinking about the main elements of stories.

3. Alphabet sensory bins

For this activity you need some bins, little objects, alphabet flash cards, and some sensory filler (we recommend rice). Put items in bins and allow the child to sort through the objects and sort objects by the first letter of their name. For example, if a child finds a toy octopus, they would put it next to the O card.

4. Number slap!

This craft game is super simple and super fun. Tape numbered cards to a wall or a table and call out a number for the child to slap. For an extra twist, you can have numbered cars on the wall, matched with cards with pictures of apples. For example, if the child picked up a card with 3 apples on it, he would find the corresponding number 3 on the wall and give it a slap. (Protip: if your child is nailing it with numbers, but isn’t great with symbols or letters, this game can easily translate into “letter slap” or “punctuation slap”.)

5. Alphabet rocks

For this craft, you and your little one will need to find 52 rocks and a black marker (we recommend sharpie). First,  letters need to be drawn on the rocks; 26 lowercase, and 26 uppercase. This is a fun activity to help your child get comfortable writing and recognizing letters in both upper and lower case. For more advanced toddlers, after the letters are created, try spelling out some fun words together.

Literacy development is a vital part of your child’s overall success. It’s the foundation for doing well in school, socializing with others, and developing independence.

Literacy crafts are a great way to learn more about letters, numbers, and words. It’s an opportunity to enhance dexterity and encourage creativity. It is a great way to prepare your child for learning a new language with us at Rayito. But perhaps the most fun part of all is it gives you an opportunity to bond with your child as they grow into a little person who can read and write and play. Remember parents, you play a vital role in encouraging your young one to become a strong and confident reader. Have fun and learn lots!

 

January 3, 2020