Information Station
Welcome to the Early Learners Information Station for parents and caregivers! On this page, you will find articles on early literacy development and online resources to support you and your young learner, along with other valuable information.
Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! encourages healthy child development, universal developmental and behavioral screening for young children, and support for the families and providers who care for them.
Babies are learning every waking moment. In fact, infants and toddlers are either learning or sleeping. From birth to age 5, more than 85 percent of a child’s brain is formed!
Evidence suggests children learn most of their language and vocabulary related knowledge at home through caregiver and sibling interactions, while they learn code related knowledge like phonemic awareness at school. 1
The first 3 years of life is the most intensive period for speech and language development. Reading, talking, and singing regularly with young children from birth stimulates brain development. This stimulation in turn builds language, literacy, and a child’s motivation to learn.
Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development and strengthens parent-child relationships at a critical time in child development, which, in turn, builds language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime. 1
Discover the typical literacy milestones for your pre-kindergarten child, and how to support your child's developing skills in reading and writing. Use the links on the left to find activities, videos, and other resources to build skills in these key areas: understanding what print is, recognizing the sounds in speech, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.
Starting a home library for your children shows them how important books are. Here are some creative ideas for finding books (including flea markets, book swaps, birthday and holiday wish lists), creating a welcoming space to keep the books, making your own bookplates, and more.
Reading aloud with young children is one of the most effective ways to expose them to enriched language and to encourage specific early literacy skills needed to promote school readiness. 1
Kids & Family Reading Report
The Rise of Read-Aloud The beautiful thing about the read-aloud is how it can be tailored to the lifestyles and preferences of families and caregivers. Everyone can join together around the read-aloud to create a sense of well-being and mutual care. It is a prescription for lifelong success for the child and a dose of deep well-being for the family.
Children introduced to reading early in life tend to read earlier and excel in school compared to children who are not exposed to language and books at a young age. 1
