Reading is one of the most important skills your child will need for kindergarten. Learning to read doesn’t start with books, it starts with everyday moments at home. At Collaborative for Children, we help families and child care centers build strong early literacy skills through fun, hands-on learning.
Our programs focus on early childhood education, not just daycare. We support child care centers of excellence, offer certified ECE training, and bring learning into homes and communities through tools like the Collab-Lab mobile classroom.
Children who are ready to read by kindergarten are more likely to succeed in school and beyond. Reading readiness includes:
– Knowing how books work
– Recognizing letters and sounds
– Understanding stories
– Building vocabulary
– Developing focus and listening skills
These skills don’t come all at once. They grow through play, songs, stories, and conversations—starting as early as infancy.
More Resources for FamiliesYou don’t need fancy tools to help your child get ready to read. Just a few minutes a day can make a big difference.
Reading aloud helps children hear how language sounds. Use silly voices and gestures to make it fun. Ask questions like “What do you think will happen next?”
Even if they can’t read words yet, kids can tell stories from pictures. This builds emergent literacy—the first step toward real reading.
Songs like “Twinkle Twinkle” or “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” teach phonemic awareness—the ability to hear and play with sounds in words.
Say, “I spy something that starts with the ‘b’ sound.” This helps kids connect sounds to letters.
Let your child pick out books they love. Libraries often have free story times and activities, too.
Use fun tools like sand, chalk, or even rice to help them write their name. This builds fine motor skills and letter recognition.
Say a word like “butterfly” and clap for each part: but-ter-fly. This helps kids hear how words are made.
Turning Screen Time into Quality TimeStart reading from birth! Babies love hearing your voice, and it helps them learn language early.
If your child enjoys books, can recognize some letters, and understands simple stories, they’re on the right track.
Visit your local library or check out the Collab-Lab for free resources and support.
