Literacy is an amazing thing. It helps us read the instructions on a shampoo bottle (wet, lather, rinse, repeat) and make sense of the latest e-mail “good luck” chain (send this to 10 people, or else). As I have discussed in previous posts, oral language, reading and writing all come together in this idea of […]

“Grammy, the geese came back!” my four-year-old granddaughter exclaimed in a recent phone conversation. And while I am always delighted to talk with her, I was especially pleased to hear her story about seeing the geese this autumn. The story she told made it clear that her oral language abilities have reached a level that […]

I, like most parents, want my children to have all the tools they need to be successful in this world. And, what we know, is that literacy is so important in both academic and life pursuits. As a parent, and an early childhood educator, I know that we need to support children in becoming strong […]

By Pam Schiller, Ph.D. Many people think that talking with children is not important because there appears to be so much children don’t understand. This is a huge misunderstanding! Children understand our intonations and speech patterns almost from birth. If they are around talkative caretakers, they understand most of what is said to them by […]