Children are always watching and learning! So what can you do to encourage reading and writing everyday?
It doesn’t have to be complicated, here are a few ideas:
Shopping list
Talk about what you need and the foods you like. Both write a list (even if it’s mark-making – it all counts!) before visiting the shops together. Read off your lists, looking for names or pictures on labels, and put the items in the trolley.
Visit a library
Talk about your favourite types of books, and when you visit the library, both choose some to bring home and share together. Let your child see you reading: books, newspapers, recipes; it all counts! If children see their grown-ups being a reading role model, they will want to be a reader too.
Cooking together
Recipes are reading too, reading for a purpose! There’s a lot of great vocabulary in cooking from action words such as ‘mixing’ and ‘stirring’ and new ingredients that children may not have come across before. Recipes also show children how to follow step by step instructions. And you never know; you may have the next budding Bake Off star at home!
As always, remember to have fun!
