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Family Literacy

by Jean Berry Racin
September/October 1999
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Family Literacy
by Jean Berry Racin

We "naturally" help children develop spoken language. We can do the same with literacy. We need to help parents understand THEY ALREADY KNOW what their children need to know to develop prereading/writing skills. We need to help them in their role as coaches and cheerleaders of literacy. And we need to show them how to transfer this knowledge to their children, as Jim Trelease wrote, "To gently match the skills with the developing interest. . . ." The parent is the child's first teacher as well as the child's most significant role model in manners and morals. This is not new - "School of mother's knee" is a 17th century line!

- One of Jean Piaget's most profoundly simple research conclusions is his observation that "the more a child has seen and heard, the more he wants to see and hear." And as Dr. Saso wrote, "The curriculum that most benefits babies is simply common sense . . . carrying on an ongoing dialogue with adult speech. Vocabulary words are a magnet for a child's thinking and reading skills." In other words, from the very beginning, respond to babbling!

- Talk, talk, talk, and listen! ...

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