Our children are observing and learning from us daily. They observe our actions and speech and pick up our behaviours and habits. Hence, what we do daily impacts them the most. To help your child improve in literacy, we can practise greater mindfulness in some of our daily behaviours.
TIP #1: Speak in ONE language at each time or in a single sentence
Unlike adults, children are new to the world of languages. In unique Singapore, however, where we enjoy diverse cultures and immerse in various languages, we tend to express ourselves in a multi-lingual manner - sometimes in a single sentence. This confuses little ones as they are still trying to master one language.
So next time, instead of asking, "you want to makan ma?".
You may want to ask, "do you want to eat now?"
TIP #2: Practise and emphasize on newly learnt words regularly for a window of time
A child's brain is like a sponge they say. Children absorb information very quickly. They pick up new words almost instantly when they find them intriguing but at that instant, they may just be parroting those words and the behaviours the words are associated with. Hence, as caregivers, it is important we incorporate newly learnt words more regularly in daily conversations to enable the child to comprehend the word more accurately.
TIP #3: Read to your child regularly
The oldest trick in the book to improve literacy - read regularly. Reading regularly will allow a child to grow accustom to grammatical sentences. It will give your child an understanding of how sentences are structured and how stories develop - from introduction to conclusion. Find age-appropriate stories that cover content that your child might take interest or find relevance to such as thematic stories and festival-based folk tales.
If your busy schedule makes regular reading a close to impossible task, you may want to consider using e-story platforms where age-appropriate stories are narrated with animation and beautiful illustrations.
SOC has a platform, www.schooloncloud.sg - an e-storybook platform with original thematic stories that are educational covering topics ranging from festivals, sustainability and wellness.
Simply click on the link, register for an account and start reading! 📖