As children embark on their educational journey, feeling welcomed and supported in their early childhood settings lays a strong foundation for their literacy development. Let’s explore the importance of creating a nurturing and inclusive environment for children in their early years and how it directly impacts their literacy skills.
- Fostering a Sense of Belonging: When children feel welcomed and valued in their early childhood settings, it enhances their sense of belonging. Creating an environment where each child feels accepted and included sets the stage for positive engagement and motivation towards learning. As they develop secure attachments with their caregivers and peers, children feel more comfortable exploring language and expressing themselves, which forms the bedrock of literacy development.
- Building Confidence and Self-Esteem: Welcoming early childhood settings also play a pivotal role in boosting children’s confidence and self-esteem. When children feel safe to take risks, ask questions, and share their thoughts and ideas, they develop a strong sense of self-worth. This confidence spills over into their literacy skills, encouraging them to engage in reading, writing, and communication with enthusiasm and a belief in their abilities.
- Language-Rich Environment: An inclusive and welcoming early childhood setting provides a language-rich environment where children are exposed to a variety of vocabulary, expressive language, and communication opportunities. Through meaningful interactions with caregivers and peers, children acquire language skills, expand their vocabulary, and develop a deeper understanding of language structures. These linguistic foundations are instrumental in developing strong literacy skills as they progress through their educational journey.
- Cultivating a Love for Reading: Creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that celebrates books and reading can ignite a lifelong love for literature. When children are surrounded by a diverse range of age-appropriate books and encouraged to explore them, it cultivates a sense of curiosity and wonder. Furthermore, when caregivers model a love for reading and engage children in interactive storytelling experiences, it deepens their connection to the written word and fosters a positive attitude towards literacy.
- Collaboration between Educators and Families: A welcoming early childhood setting thrives on collaborative partnerships between educators and families. When parents feel comfortable and involved in their child’s educational experience, they become active participants in promoting literacy development. Sharing resources, exchanging information, and engaging in meaningful conversations about their child’s progress enhances the child’s learning opportunities and reinforces the importance of literacy within the family unit.
- Inclusivity and Diversity: An inclusive early childhood setting embraces diversity and recognizes that each child’s unique background and experiences contribute to a rich learning environment. By incorporating diverse literature and celebrating different cultures, languages, and perspectives, children develop an appreciation for diversity, empathy, and inclusivity. Exposure to a wide range of experiences through literature enhances their understanding of the world and their own place within it, fostering literacy skills that are inclusive and empathetic.
In the journey towards literacy, creating a welcoming early childhood setting is paramount. When children feel valued, secure, and included, they develop the confidence and motivation to explore language and literacy with enthusiasm. By fostering a sense of belonging, providing a language-rich environment, nurturing a love for reading, and promoting collaboration between educators andfamilies, a strong foundation for children’s literacy skills is built. Prioritizing creating warm and inclusive spaces where children can thrive, empowers them to become lifelong learners and literate citizens of the world.
Lynne Hall is a Research Associate at the Early Childhood Center. She holds a Master of Science in Education and an Indiana instructional teaching license (Early Childhood Education and Services; Elementary/Primary Generalist; Elementary/Intermediate Generalist). She formerly taught preschool in a variety of settings for over 15 years. Her expertise includes early literacy instruction, equity in early childhood education, and inclusive classroom practices.
Email her at hallma@iu.edu
The early years set the tone for children’s feelings, beliefs, and ideas about those different from them. As shared in this previous blog post: 
Brown, Keah; illustrated by Sharee Miller. Sam’s Super Seats. (Kokila, 2022) Sam is excited about going back to school with her mom and her two best friends. WIth a few needed breaks because of Sam’s disability, this caring group has a good time preparing for the year.
de la Fuente-Lau, Shuli. How We Eat. (Little Feminist Press, 2022) Simple text and bright, inviting photographs show the many ways kids eat their food in this board book for young readers.
Kamanda, Ali and Jorge Redmond; illustrated by Ken Daley. Black Boy, Black Boy: Celebrate the Power of YOU. (Sourcebooks, 2022) Using rhyming text and boldly colored illustrations, this empowering book affirms Black boys through the examples of Black men such as Colin Kaepernick, Chinua Achebe, and many others.
There are lots of fun ways to celebrate the July 4th holiday with young children including things like painting with red, white, and blue, singing related songs and fingerplays, and even using fireworks videos to launch science lessons. But did you know that these activities support early literacy skills too? Painting and collage activities help develop the small motor skills needed to hold books and turn pages. Singing holiday songs and fingerplays develops phonological skills by sharing rhyming words and builds language skills by introducing new vocabulary. Science investigations provide opportunities to develop concepts by asking children open-ended questions, having brainstorming sessions, encouraging children to make predictions and generate hypotheses. Whether it’s an art, music, or science activity, spring boarding these lessons with a book and then referring back to the story during activities supports children to make deeper meaning and connections. Here are some July 4th books to consider using this holiday:
May is National Mental Health Awareness month. Since the pandemic, there has been an increased focus on the mental health of young children, and particularly the fact that they are not immune to mental health issues. In fact, the latest brain science research and studies on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) have emphasized the importance of attending to young children’s social-emotional well-being.
We know, we know, teachers collect a lot of formal and informal data! They use a variety of assessment tools and are constantly assessing as they observe and collect anecdotal notes, pictures, videos, and the list goes on. While formal assessments provide a broad view of student (performance) knowledge, informal data provides more detailed information. Both types of data are often used to report student progress and outcomes, but what is the best way to use it to inform instruction?
Next, the teacher must determine if children are lacking proficiency or performance. For example, is it because they really don’t know it (lack of proficiency) or because they are shy (lack of performance)? The answer to this will determine “how” a teacher proceeds with instruction. If the child is shy and the teacher thinks they probably do have this skill, they might try some additional informal assessing by planning some 1:1 assessment during child-directed play time.
Independent reading can be defined as “reading children choose to do on their own. It reflects the reader’s personal choice of the material read as well as the time and place to read it. It is done for information and pleasure” (Cullinan, 2000).
