LitSteps Skills

Confused about where to begin? Here are some tips on how to decide what your child is ready for. Remember, little steps and a big dose of patience are the keys to a successful literacy partnership. 

Recognizing, naming, and drawing basic shapes is a foundational skill. Shapes are the building blocks to drawing letters, numbers, and objects. 

Your child knows how to sing the Alphabet song. Now what? Making time to help your child with letter and sound recognition will give them the confidence and knowledge they need on the literacy journey.

It's common for children to confuse numerals with letters at the outset. And that's ok. It means they are comparing numeric symbols to letters they know. Yay, them!

Household objects like toys, finger foods, and craft supplies are great props for sorting and comparing. Sorting is a fun tactile activity for your young child.

Yikes! Your child just squeezed half a bottle of school glue onto the kitchen table. Glue sticks are better, but they still cause lots of sticky situations.  Don't even get us started on scissors and pencil sharpeners...

Creative expression is a lifelong skill. If your child conjures up purple bunnies, bubble-breathing dragons, and robotic trees, feed and support their imagination. Ask them to tell you the story behind their scribbles. You'll be astonished by their answers!

Look at me! I am the center of the universe. Shine a light on your child's likes and dislikes. Uncovering their favorite things will help establish their identity and place in the world.

Your child's name is often the first word they learn to spell. What could be more meaningful? Learning how to write it of course!

Like sorting, repeat patterns are a tactile way to engage your child. You can use whatever you have on hand; crayons, a toy car collection, buttons, pasta shapes. 

Matching objects is similar to sorting. Your child is learning how to categorize objects. Matching milk to milk is one way to answer. But is it wrong to match milk with the cookie? 

Building your child's memory skills is important, and helps with more complex literacy skills down the road. Don't forget this step of the literacy journey!

What happens next? Why? Ask these questions often. Your child took a bath. Ask them what happens next. A book character misses the school bus. Ask your child what will happen next.

Things often happen in order. Learning to recognize the sequence of things helps your child make sense of the world. Establishing routines is a great way to reinforce this skill.

Sequencing and memory skills will help your child with retelling. Teach your child how to tell a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. One day they'll surprise you and use this skill to tell you stories of their own.

When words start with the same sound, like ball, bear, bat, and balloon, they are alliterative. Adding alliteration activities is always advantageous. 

Rhyming is everywhere! Poems, song lyrics, nursery rhymes, and picture books are all valuable tools when teaching your child about rhyming.