Four literacy activities that I do with my toddler.

Today is International Literacy Day and I wanted to share 4 of the activities I do with my 2 year old toddler Isaiah. When it comes to literacy, as parents/guardians it sometimes sounds like a subject that toddlers can’t get involved in yet but they can. A lot of the activities are just based around learning through play.

1. Books are so important, even if your child doesn’t know how to read, simple things such as turning the page from right to left, allowing your child to describe to you what he/she sees in the pictures in the book. I always make sure to read a variety of books (even though Isaiah has his favourite book that he likes to read.
   
   The vocabulary and words in each book is different and might not be something that your child has heard before, but this will help as it will be stored in their short term memory and after a while transferred to their long term memory.
   
2. A great literacy activity is getting your child involved in singing and listening to music. I’ve realised this has allowed Isaiah to understand a sequence with putting the words together and this is also through repetition, if Isaiah loves a particular rhyme he will sing it until he’s got a new favourite that he’s learnt from nursery.
   
   
3. Scribbling, this is an independent activity that I leave Isaiah to, and sit in the same room and let him have his own freedom to use different art materials to scribble away. This helps with fine motor skills and strengthening their hand and finger muscles for when they start to write and draw.
   
   
4. Libraries are a perfect quick and easy trip for you and your child. This has so many benefits, as it allows your child to be out of the house, have a bigger of selection of books to choose from, meet new people and get involved in any activities that the library may have on. 
   
   As parents, we normally choose the books that our child likes, but when I've taken Isaiah to the library I've seen him pick up books that were based on other topics that I didn't know he liked. This is great for both of us as it allows him to explore and me to see how his interests are growing.