In my last post on Teach Me How to Study, I wrote that parents and caregivers need to read and talk to babies and this is important to the Literacy Development in Preschool Children. Several studies have been conducted to determine the number of words children are exposed to by the time they start Kindergarten. This all impacts the literacy of our children and their future in education and life. A definition of Literacy by Paul Freire is ‘The power of literacy lies in not only in the ability to read and write, but rather in an individual’s capacity to put those skills to work in shaping the course of his or her own life. Whether it is the words of a language, the symbols in a mathematical system, or images posted to the Internet—literacy can transform lives.’ Parents and caregivers must start the day the baby is born building a strong connection to the child to begin the development of literacy.

The most critical years of literacy development in preschool children is between the ages of 0 to 3. The one idea parents must remember is that they are laying the foundation of language development. As the child grows parents should practice the 3Ts. The first T is Tune In to what their children say even the babbling of a baby. The second T is Talk more to your children using rich vocabulary words to build the number of words they hear. The last T is Take Turns have a conversation with your children and actively listen to them when they try to talk to you. Remember that when you interact with your children you are feeding their developing brain and it is the quality of the interaction that is most important. It is said that learning is strongest when connected to something and shared with another person the television is not another person. Remember intelligence is something you develop, it’s not something you are born with so parents and caregivers please interact with the children in your lives. Literacy is a premise of the Teach Me How to Study system because if we start early in a child’s life when they begin their school career it will be so much easier to learn the study skills necessary to be a success.