Emerging Literacy

Our infants are building a strong foundation for becoming literate in a wide variety of ways as they begin early to develop an array of related skills. They observe and participate in many of the basics throughout the day, including exposure to many elements involved in being literate, such as books just for them; photos; letters of the alphabet; writing by parents and teachers; hearing key words, phrases, and language dialects; taking in stories from books; and exploring other symbol systems.

They are beginning to learn how literacy is interwoven intricately into our environments and our interactions with each other and the roles that each element plays. They are also experimenting with making their own symbols and conducting their own communication exchanges.

Listening to and watching adults reading books, for example, develops the cognitive capabilities required to connect sounds into words and words into meaning. By hearing the reader’s changing tone, rhythm patterns, voice inflection, and repeated phrasing, infants are learning how language is formed and conveyed as part of engaging experiences.

When children are exposed to higher volumes of language through book reading, story-telling, and verbal interactions during daily routines at an early age, they are more likely to develop strong communication skills, higher levels of intelligence, and byproducts, including a of love of books and social interactions as they get older.

You are invited to learn more about many of the other elements and experiences in our program that also contribute to infants developing powerful literacy.