1. How to promote literacy in your home environment
Family Literacy Night
How to promote literacy in your home environment

2. Every parent wants their children to succeed in their academics.
Reading is one of the first fundamental building stones toward a successful academic career.
Recognizing environmental print
Recognizing letters in their own name
Recognizing familiar words or symbols
Reading is the key factor in learning new tasks. When a child becomes delayed in this key developmental mile stone, the chances of them becoming delayed in most other subjects is much higher. To ensure your child has an advantage in this subject you must become actively involved in their studies, create literacy experiences and most importantly show them how much you value their efforts
(Nilsen,2004).

3. Environmental print Look for familiar places & objects
Look for letters, numbers, or words
Create games using every day objects
Label family photos
Encourage the children to ask questions about things in their environment
Make a game out of reading the local signs in your community. Have the younger children for instance look for McDonald’s arches and the older ones look for a specific word or group of letters such as a GYM. Have everyone try to read safety street signs like cross walks or rail road crossings. Warning tag watching can become addictive to your family causing the ability to learn new letters, recognizing numbers and create unstoppable laughter.
Have the children play detective by handing them a highlighter, newspaper or magazine, and a magnifying glass. The younger ones can look for specific letters while the older ones can locate new sight or vocabulary words (mailbox magazine 2006). This can be extended to cereal boxes and any other environmental print.
Create photo albums with your children including printed names and descriptions of events. Allow the children to add their dictation as well.
Encourage discussions about printed materials and remember to take the time to really respond to their questions and statements.

4. Understanding print has value
Understanding letters make sounds
Understanding that letter sounds make words
Words create sentences
Sentences make complete thoughts
Children with guidance from others can learn early on the value of print. They begin to realize that the letters in their name make certain sounds and that those sounds create the sound of their name. They quickly grasp that other words can be made the same way. Even non-sense words. I encourage you to create silly non-sense songs that play with various letter sounds. If you feel uncomfortable making such a song there are great CD’s that can provide the music and lyrics that do just that. Dr.Jean and Mr. AL have a few. (insert song)

5. When we read & when we write We look left to right & top to bottom
When we read & when we write We look left to right & top to bottom. Author Unknown W
Use a pencil or ruler while reading to encourage the toddlers and preschools to track the letters from left to right, top to bottom. Another activity that encourage this eye tracking can be for them to wash a small area of the window from left to right top to bottom. Some parents have had their children of various ages create a photo time line that went in sequence from left to right and top to bottom. Can you share any other examples. For the elementary students cross word and find a word puzzles that are age appropriate can also reinforce this skills. Many puzzles of various difficult levels can also promote this skill.

6. Parts of a Book Front of a book Back of a book
Spine that holds the pictures together
Title page
Name of the book
Author: Person whom wrote the book
Illustrator: Person whom drew the pictures
Photograph
Review with your child the important parts of a book. How to read and take proper care of a book & how a book is our friend that can last a life time and take us to many new places as long as we take care of them.

7. Value of sharing books together
Bonds the family together
Read to your children
Have the children read to you
Create your own written stories as a family
Reading to your children not only promotes literacy but can provide great bonding experiences. This can be done during daily routines such as nap time, bedtime or an early morning transition. Some families encourage their older children whom have begun to read sight words and simple text books to the younger ones in the car or while waiting at the doctor’s office etc.. This can be a benefit in many ways. Not only does it keep all the children occupied but it also provides practice for the new reader. This can also become a wonderful bonding ritual. Have the younger ones read you picture books by either their memory or interpreting what is happening in the pictures. Allow the children to see and hear you sounding out words as you read them. Give each person a specific character to be and out out their part of the plot ( Epstein,201). One of the first things I learned as an educator was to allow the children to create their own stories or re-write a well known story. Give each child a piece of paper, the book to look at or flash cards with words on it. Let them become creative in their own way and at their own developmental levels. Take a large sheet of paper and start a sentence have someone else finish and Wahl a story has been written. Family trips to the library or local book store to meet favorite authors or illustrates can be a rewarding experience.

8. Family Journal , creative writing and art time
Promotes creativity
Provides great opportunities to practice writing
Is a calming activity
Recording of emotions, thoughts, fears and desires
A treasured momentum
Many families take pride in providing the children with materials that allow them to write, draw or create materials that express themselves. The new growing trend in our area is journal writing. All family members write or draw about any subject that they wish and no one criticizes their efforts. Bonnie Wright a school psychologist in the neighboring county recommends it to all her students and their families. She claims that this can release aggression and provide a way that allows an individual to truly express themselves not to mention the value of the hand writing practice it provides the children.

9. List Making Grocery List Chore list Toy list Vacation antennary
Christmas list
Consequence list
Many of us make list through out the Day with out realizing this can be a great learning activity for our kids. Our children can help us write a grocery list either with words, symbols or pictures. They can cut and paste pictures from advertisements, draw their own or use flash cards to practice writing the words. Older children can sound the word out than attempt to spell it out on paper. A consequence list for unruly behaviors can be written as a family and a vacation can be planned by the whole family.

10. FAMILY Games Memory games Picture/word lotto Letter bean bag
Pin the letter on the shirt
Sorting games
Puzzles
Themed toys & blocks
Family games can be made or store bought. The most important part of these games is the word FAMILY. The family that prays and plays together stays together. (Discuss how we can make the above games)

11. References:
Documenting The Development Of Young Children, Nilsen, Barbara Ann ED.D, 2004 P. 4,41,106
The Intentional Teacher,2014 Epstein, Ann S.
All the reading for week 1 ECH-425

12. Family Literacy Night Traci Lawson-Harrell
EDU-225 Instructional Technology 
Instructor: David Larson