Getting Ready To Read: 2 and 3 year olds

The National Institute for Literacy has a checklist for parents of 2 and 3 year olds for establishing literacy at home in the pamphlet Literacy Begins At Home. They say, "You are your child's first and most important teacher." Here is a checklist for you to help your 2 and 3 year olds get ready to read.

• Read with your child every day, even if it is only for a few minutes.
• Encourage your child to bring his favorite books to you so you can read together.
• Point to pictures and name them out loud.
• Encourage your child to point to pictures while you read
• Make eye contact with your child as you read aloud. This tells you she is paying attention.
• Talk with your child throughout the day about things you are doing and things that are happening around you.
• Be patient when your child wants to read that same book over and over (and over again).
• Encourage your child to lay with books. Let her pick them up, flip them form front to back, and turn the pages.
• Listen as your child pretends to read a book. Watch for him to hold the book, go from page to page, and say words. Not necessarily the right words, just words.
• Allow your child to use paper and crayons to scribble, make pictures, and pretend to write.

To me, this seems like a super simple list that is very achievable with the 2-3 year old children. It is nice to see a simple list!