20 Productive Early Literacy Activities for Preschoolers & Kindergarten Kids

Are you looking for language and early literacy activities for preschoolers and kindergarten kids? Here we’ll go through why early literacy is important and what you can do to help develop their abilities and skills.

What is Early Literacy?

Early Literacy is the development of language from an early age. Literacy is language spoken and spoken language understood.  Literacy is the ability to read and write.  

Early literacy begins from an early age. Literacy is embedded in our daily activities, from the way we write, the things we read and to the way we speak – all shape the culture we are born into and the society we live in. It is important to note that early literacy can occur with more than one language.  If a child is exposed to more than one language in their home, they will develop early literacy in both of those languages. 

Importance of Early Literacy

Literacy is the foundation to all other learning. Early language and literacy begin in the first three years of a child’s life, well before they begin formal schooling. Early literacy includes activities such as reading books and using pencils and paper build language, reading and writing development.  These things can all happen during play and daily living in the early years (0-3) in a child’s life.  Children who are not given the tools and opportunities to do this may become frustrated and ‘act out’ due to their inability to communicate their needs and wants. 

Early literacy is vital for school readiness. When a child is developmentally able to understand the components of literacy, it prepares them for the learning that will take place at school. This also determines how a child will learn when they begin formal schooling.  An example of this is a child who arrives at school with the understanding of how to read a book (from left to right).  This child is already more literate than a child who has never seen a book in his or her life. 

Early Literacy Activities for Kids

Now, let us get into some language and literacy activities. Preschoolers and kindergarteners can all benefit from early literacy activities through play.

1. Reading to your child

Reading to your child from birth itself is an incredible experience.  Apart from fostering closeness and bonding, it provides the child with nurturing  and begins the journey of literacy. Take a look at our list of fantastic story books for kids.

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2. Listening to Stories

These can be played in the car or when your child is falling asleep. This is a great way for your child to be exposed to a variety of vocabulary on a daily basis.

Check out these products which turn your own books into audio books, allowing children to listen to stories on their own!

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3. Looking at Picture Books

Discussing what the story is telling us and predicting what will happen next are some of the ways a picture book can be used.

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4. Visiting the Library

Allow your child to choose some books to read on their own or that you can sit and read with them.  Most local libraries also have story time which you can attend and the librarian reads to the children. 

5. Talking

Talking to your child about what is happening, what the plan is for the day, what the excavator is doing to the building site you are walking past – just talk.  Explaining things to your child opens their vocabulary and their imaginations to the wider world around them.

6. Reciting Nursery Rhymes

Nursery rhymes are a great early literacy activity, and a fantastic way to get toddlers using their words. Because they are short they are easy to learn if recited over and over again. Kids love repetition. Here is a fantastic list of nursery rhyme books to use with your kids.

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7. Singing Songs

Singing is found to be fundamental in learning for young children.  Sing songs you know, play music and make up songs too.  You will soon find your child doing the same.  Songs are also a fantastic and easy way to learn rhythm and rhyme. Here are a few song lists to get you and the kids started:

8. Playdough

Playing with materials like sand, playdough, mobilo and duplo are fun but also give children the opportunity to strengthen their fine motor skills ready to hold a pencil and write when the time is right. 

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9. Making a Shopping List

We all have to shop for food and making a shopping list is a fantastic literacy activity for preschoolers. Give your child their own notepad and pen and have them make a shopping list.  The spelling doesn’t have to be correct, the words don’t even have to make sense.  That is ok. This is the beginning of writing and understanding the purpose of writing.  Have your child bring their list with them, get their own little trolley or basket and shop with you. 

10. Fine Motor Practise

Anything that will strengthen your child’s fine motor skills is incredibly helpful when they start school.  A child with weak fine motor skills tends to feel exhausted by writing and can then make learning at school more challenging.  Here are some ideas:

  • Paintbrush, water and the back fence
  • Using crayons and pencils and blank paper
  • Sidewalk chalk on a concrete space outside
  • Lego
  • Playdough and Sand
  • Cooking – kneading, stirring, whisking, rolling
  • Using scissors (you can buy scissors that are safe for little hands)

11. Puppets

Puppets are a really fun literacy activity for preschoolers. They are a great tool for oral language and can also be used for children to retell a favourite story. 

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12. Writing and Posting a Letter

This literacy activity for preschoolers is purposeful and fun.  Organise with a family member to become a penpal for your child.  Have your child ‘write’ a letter and then they can wait for a letter to come back for them.  It is always exciting to get mail when you are a child.

13. Play

Literacy activities for preschoolers should be fun! Set up a Shop, Café, Doctor’s Surgery or a Vet (the ideas are endless) and have your child serve you.  They can make signs, forms, lists and menus and have fun while playing with literacy.

14. Matching Letters and Sounds

This is a simple literacy activity for preschoolers.  Give your child a letter of the alphabet (written on a card) and have them place it on something they can see that begins with that letter.  For example the Letter C could be placed on a cup.

15. Labelling Your Home

Label the refrigerator, the door, the bath, the garage – label whatever you can think of. As your child sees these words around your home, they become more familiar.  This is a perfect literacy activity to prepare your child for reading. 

16. Word Games

Word games allow children to practice their early literacy skills without realising. They are also a really fun literacy activity for preschoolers. Here is a list of fun word games for kids.

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17. Board Games

Any board game is great for early literacy as it involves oral language.  If you can find literacy based games that is even better.

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 18. Color sorting letters

Practice colors and letters together with this preschool activity, all you need is a printable rainbow, some colored label stickers and a marker. Use the marker to write one letter on each circle sticker. Give the child the sticker sheet, and instruct them to peel off each sticker, say the letter and stick it onto the part of the rainbow with the matching color. This helps little ones work on letter recognition, color discrimination and fine motor skills.

19. Connect-the-dots with letters

Good, old connect-the-dots gets revamped when you write a handful of repeating letters in random patterns down a length of butcher’s paper. Kids can connect the letters in any way they like so long as all of the G’s are connected to the other G’s and so on.

20. Television

Television can be a great tool for education. The keys to successful TV viewing are setting limits, making good choices, taking time to watch together, discussing what you view, and encouraging follow-up reading.

  • Limit your child’s TV viewing and make your rules and reasons clear. Involve your child in choosing which programs to watch. Read the TV schedule together to choose.
  • Monitor what your child is watching, and whenever possible, watch the programs with your child.
  • When you watch programs with your child, discuss what you have seen so your child can better understand the programs.
  • Look for programs that will stimulate your child’s interests and encourage reading (such as dramatizations of children’s literature and programs on wildlife and science.)

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