August Family Literacy Tip

Families Create Literacy-Friendly Home Environments

There are three dimensions to building positive literacy experiences in the home.  First, the number of books in a family’s home, including those owned and borrowed, is strongly and positively related to children’s reading ability. Second, storybook reading supports children’s vocabulary, knowledge, oral language, and reading comprehension.  Third, engaging in parent-child activities like teaching letter names and printing words supports children becoming fluent readers.

All of these dimensions can be achieved at the library! Stop in for a visit and check out some books. Read them together as a family at home then find literacy-based activities to do inspired by the books you read! 

Make your library visits themed. For example, plan to check out 10 books about your favorite animal. Get a mixture of fiction and nonfiction, maybe even see if we have a Wonderbook about that animal. When you get home, spend some time practicing writing the animal’s name, drawing it, and reading the books together. 

Fostering literacy rich experiences at home is easy with the help of your library!