EARLY literacy opens the door to a world of communication and opportunities.
Experts believe that in utero infants hear sounds which can shape their early literacy.
Around a week after being born, babies should be screened for hearing loss, and around six months of age for their first comprehensive eye test.
Each are equally essential to learning how to hear and form the sounds that lead to early literacy.
Children mimic what they see and hear, (don’t we know it) and new sensory experiences can be linked to early literacy.
Smiling and cooing at an infant is not only reassuring, but also develops a connection between eye contact, hearing and touch, and humming to a baby introduces the very beginnings of sound; a vibration.
An indication eye sight is developing normally is their ability to focus on care givers and when alone, crib mobiles and wind chimes are a charming way to engage baby’s senses to help develop those muscles needed later on to read from left to right, on repeat.
Sometimes, inner ear infections in children not only causes aches and pains and upsets their sleep, they can cause momentary hearing loss which can lead to early literacy milestone delays.
Finding a family doctor who is nearby and familiar with a baby’s developmental milestones is a must do.
Across Mitchell Shire Council (MSC) at their Library and Customer Service Centres, a fun weekly outing for little ones is Babytime. The stimulating session runs for 30-minutes and is suitable for babies up to 18 months.
Another MSC program which supports early literacy is Rhymetime with stories, rhymes, singing and dancing all curated with children aged 18-months to three years in mind. It’s also a short 30-minute session, however, many parents and caregivers remain at the library to peruse the ‘books just in’ section or to connect with friends family and even to share tips and tricks to further kick-start their child’s learning process.
Finally, there is Storytime, a program useful to prepare children for school as its a fantastic opportunity for your child to practice listening and interacting to become independent readers. Storytime is suitable for children aged 3 to 5 years, and all the above programs are free and facilitated by MSC.
To learn more, scan the QR code on this page to take you to the source of happy learning.
