July 30th is the International Day of Friendship! Developing friendship skills in early childhood lays the foundation for children’s emotional well-being, cooperation, and social success by teaching them how to navigate social relationships, understand others’ feelings, and engage in positive peer interactions. Literacy activities, especially those that center around shared reading, storytelling, and conversation are… Read more »
Uncategorized
Water Play is Dripping with Literacy Opportunities!
What better way to spend a hot July day than outside playing in water! Whether it be floating at the pool, running through a sprinkler, splashing in a water table, sitting in the beach surf or wading in a creek, water play holds incredible potential for promoting early literacy skills development in young children. Through… Read more »
Sun, Sand, and Sentences
Summer Solstice was 6/20/25, marking the official start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Summer is most noted by its warmer weather and longer daylight which contribute to additional time spent outdoors. While most of us realize the benefits of outdoor play such as climbing, running, jumping, etc. for children’s gross motor development, recent research… Read more »
Meeting Everyone’s Needs- Foundational Principle 6: Family Engagement
If you haven’t yet, be sure to visit this original blog post which shared 6 evidence-based foundational principles for supporting all children to be successful in their early childhood environments: https://blogs.iu.edu/earlyliteracy/2025/04/25/all-really-does-mean-all/ . The sixth and final foundational principle is Family Engagement. It requires engaging with families and supporting them to use evidence-based early literacy practices… Read more »
Meeting Everyone’s Needs- Foundational Principle 5: Emergent Multilingual Support
The fifth foundational principle for meeting ALL children’s needs is Emergent Multilingual Support which involves maximizing multilingual learners’ language capital. If you haven’t yet, be sure to visit this original blog post https://blogs.iu.edu/earlyliteracy/2025/04/25/all-really-does-mean-all/ which shared the 6 evidence-based foundational principles for supporting all children to be successful in the classroom. As our nation, and specifically… Read more »
Meeting Everyone’s Needs: Foundational Principle 4: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
The fourth foundational principle for meeting ALL children’s needs is Culturally Responsive Pedagogy which entails addressing social barriers that can cause disparities in children’s achievement by being mindful of and removing these barriers so all children succeed. If you haven’t yet, be sure to visit this original blog post https://blogs.iu.edu/earlyliteracy/2025/04/25/all-really-does-mean-all/ which shared the 6 evidence-based… Read more »
Meeting Everyone’s Needs: Foundational Principle 3: Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS)
The third foundational principle for meeting ALL children’s needs is Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS). MTSS grew out of the integration of two other intervention-based frameworks: Response to Intervention (RTI) and PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports). In early childhood education, fostering the development of young learners requires a proactive and structured approach to meet their diverse needs. MTSS… Read more »
Meeting Everyone’s Needs: Foundational Principle 2: Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
All children are unique and learn and develop at their own pace. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) supports all children to meaningfully participate in the classroom by offering multiple means of representation (sharing content), engagement (accommodating different learning styles/preferences), and expression (demonstrating understanding). When applied to early literacy instruction, implementing UDL practices can support and… Read more »
What does it mean to be READY for Kindergarten?
Kindergarten teachers have weighed in and have shared the skills they think are most important for children just starting formal schooling. It may surprise you to learn that it isn’t recognizing and naming alphabet letters and sounds, colors and numbers or even writing their name. While these can be helpful, kindergarten teachers say that these… Read more »
Sunshine & Stories: Developing Early Literacy Outdoors
Spring is the perfect time to take early literacy learning into the great outdoors. For our youngest learners, the natural environment offers sensory experiences, exploration, and discovery—all which foster literacy development. Let’s take a closer look at some exciting outdoor activities that enhance early literacy skills while basking in the beauty of spring. Outside Storytime… Read more »