At Herrick District Library, we use the Every Child Ready to Read framework to encourage caregivers of children from infants-5 years old to engage with the young children in their care through early literacy best practices. The framework is found at http://www.everychildreadytoread.org/

These five simple early literacy practices will get your child ready to learn:

READ: Reading every day with the young children in your care is the single best thing you can do to prepare your child to read independently. Twenty minutes per day is the goal, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

SING: Singing allows children to hear that words are made up of different sounds and is a great way to help young children with transitions like diaper changing, being in the car, or getting ready for bed.

TALK: Asking open ended questions while reading books, pointing out that everything has a name, and taking the time to speak slowly and wait for a response all help young children expand their vocabularies and learn how to tell their own stories.

PLAY: Play is the work of children. From peek-a-boo to I-Spy to rolling a ball back and forth to giving a child an empty box, play is how children learn about the world around them.

WRITE: Helping infants open and close their fingers, providing babies and toddlers opportunities to grasp or tear a variety of objects, and encouraging preschoolers to use writing utensils and scissors will help them get ready to write.