How An Early Childhood Education Program Builds Early Literacy Skills
A top-quality preschool is not just a supervised space for little growing minds to play, but it also provides a perfect platform for children to develop the skills needed to become confident, healthy communicators. When parents search for the right early childhood education program, one of the most important factors they consider is early language and literacy development.
Learning to read and write is one of the foundational skills all children will learn during the early stages of their academic career. It’s important that each child gets the exposure they need to a solid foundation, even from as young as preschool age. The first five years are a window of opportunity for little ones to gain foundations that set them up for life.
At the Inspiring Minds Preschool, we weave language skills into our everyday routines through our age-appropriate preschool curriculum. Our goal is to ensure our learners take the first steps they need to for a successful school career and a healthy appreciation and enjoyment of learning. Relationships with their teachers and peers, interactive learning activities, story time, intentional structured and unstructured play times, and a strong partnership with families are some of the ways we nurture these critical skills in preschool-aged children.
While choosing the right preschool makes sense, let’s explore how an early childhood education program builds literacy skills.
Why Early Literacy Learning Matters
The foundations of reading and writing start as young as birth. This is by no means meant to scare new parents as every child learns and develops at a different pace. The newborn season is precious, and babies are taking in a lot of information from the moment they first open their eyes and see the light of day. They’re moving from seeing shapes, to colors, to outlines and facial expressions, all the way through to textures, smells, sounds, and more. All of these senses of life contribute to a baby’s ability to understand, be understood, and communicate. If a child can learn to communicate with a parent or caregiver, they are already developing a language.
When it comes to an early learning environment or play school, caregivers and teachers get the opportunity to contribute further to this growing skill. Early language and literacy stimulation, through age-appropriate channels and curriculum, bolsters a child’s confidence and their ability to grasp concepts, especially when there is some repetition and relationship. These early years are crucial and set the foundations for a lifetime of growth and study.
How Our Curriculum Supports Early Language Development
The ELLM/ Plus (Early Literacy and Learning Model/ Plus) is a research-backed curriculum centered on a couple of main domains: language skills, cognitive development, physical education, social emotional development, and a unique approach to learning, starting even before they’re preschool age.
Frog Street’s Early Learning Curriculum by Age
The Frog Street Curriculum applies to children from as little as 0-6 months old, all the way through to five years old. Each stage has techniques and methods that correlate to the stage of development a learner might be at on the their learning journey.
1: Infant Curriculum
Between 12 and 18 months, our little ones are learning from color-coded cards with interesting ideas on them.
2: Toddler Curriculum
From age 18 -and 36 months old, children can be at a variety of different learning stages and maturity levels. The curriculum helps each child with where they are at, and our skilled teachers adapt different learning concepts to suit the unique needs of each child so that everybody learns at their own pace.
3: Preschool Curriculum
From age three, children practice the following in their classes:
- Read-aloud
- Vocabulary development
- Formal introduction to the alphabet
- Phonological awareness
- Writing and fine motor skills development
4: PreK Curriculum
From Pre-Kindergarten, learners move to ten different domains, and they learn from a comprehensive dual language program that holds nine core themes. Our bigger children thrive on more engaging and interactive learning opportunities, too.
Supportive Teachers and Literacy Development
Our skilled educators make all the difference for early literacy development in the following ways:
They Encourage Curiosity In The Classroom
Children already have a natural curiosity that’s there to motivate them to look for answers and learn new things. At Inspiring Minds preschool, we nurture that because it’s the key to growth and discovery.
Pre-Planning Engaging Activities
Most children thrive in a structured environment that allows for a balance between free play and structured learning. Our educators always pre-plan their classes and ensure there’s a good balance for optimal learning.
We aim to hold a nurturing and supportive environment that makes room for and accepts each child for who they are. Our educators ensure children’s social-emotional batteries are filled with all the care and support they need, coupled with intentional relationship building and consistent nurturing or needs.
A Quality Early Education Program in the Heart of Tamarac
The last thing we want to see is a child under the pressure of learning something they are not ready for. This is why our approach at Inspiring Minds Preschool is much more catered to each unique child at every stage. We ensure we monitor each individual carefully to ensure they are free to learn at their own pace. Since everybody learns differently, our holistic approach provides what most children need: a nurturing, pressure-free environment.
Early language and literacy skills are a natural by-product of this approach to early childhood development. The methods we use in our teaching approach automatically nurture each child’s ability to communicate, to comprehend, and to make sense of the world around them in ways that make sense for them.
For more information and to contact us directly, give us a call at 954-933-2982, or you can email us at [email protected].