Literacy involves speaking and listening, reading and writing. Engaging with your child in play-based literacy activities every day will support their development of early literacy skills.

Talk and interact with your child. Through talk, children learn about communicating with others. They also learn how to take turns, ask questions and develop a knowledge of words. These skills help children develop a strong foundation for reading and writing.

Try some of the following activities with your child.

Speaking and listening

Developing speaking and listening skills are important for children to socialise, make friends and to actively participate in school activities.

• Make conversations fun. For example, make up funny or nonsense rhymes.
• Use everyday words that are part of your child’s culture, experience and interests.
• Have fun with the sound of letters. Make up silly sentences using words that start with the same sound such as, “Sam sat on 6 socks.”

Reading

Read to and with your child daily. Encourage your child to explore books by themselves or with a family member. This will support your child to understand how books work and build a love of reading.

• Play word games with rhyming words.
• Read books with rhymes and riddles that your child enjoys.
• Sing songs. Make up a song about an everyday activity such as getting dressed.

Drawing and writing

Encourage your child to draw or write about topics that interest them. This will help your child explore how messages can be communicated in different ways.

• Ask your child to draw or write about things they like to do, make or play. Talk with your child about their drawing or writing.
• Encourage them to create a card for a friend, or an invitation to a special event or celebration.
• Support your child to draw or write something special for a friend or a family member