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Supporting Literacy

Supporting children to become ‘literate’ is multidimensional.  The Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whāriki references children exploring digital literacy in addition to more traditional forms of reading and writing print.  The term ‘multiliteracy’ considers the concept of today’s children understanding, interpreting and interacting using a range of visual and oral texts using new technologies to produce and receive messages in a combination of ways.

In a homebased environment, Educators provide a range of opportunities, experiences and activities for children to engage in the acquisition and development of literacy.  As children grow and develop, the language they experience around them becomes more varied and occurs as Educators:

• make time for conversations with individuals and small groups of children
• use specific and descriptive vocabulary in their everyday interactions matched to the child’s level of language development
• make the most of languages spoken at home as the foundation for language learning
• extend on the vocalisations and gestures of infants
• delight in talking about words and language with children
• know when and how to be playful and expressive with language
• tell and read stories frequently
• offer a variety verbal games and waiata, repeated often
• consider language and vocabulary as part of their programme planning.

Children also delight in sharing their learning stories, documented either in scrapbooks or online, and this provides a wonderful opportunity for children to share, retell and comment on the photos they see and the story accompanying them.  These are a great tool for children and families/whānau to revisit their learning and to tell us what they see happening and what might occur at home.