Early Literacy Aside--Explain: Researchers have found that one of the early literacy skills is phonological awareness. This is the ability to hear and play with the smaller sounds in words, like rhyming, playing with syllables or parts of words, and hearing beginning sounds of words. The beginning of this skills starts with children hearing and saying the sounds of animals.Sometime durng storytime sing "Old MacDonald" with the children, including several animals--cow, pig, sheep, chicken, duck, etc. Early Literacy Aside--Example: Making the sounds of animals contributes to phonological awareness and hearing sounds in words. Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Take advantage of opportunities to sing and say the sounds of animals with your children. It's fun and it also helps them hear the smaller sounds in words.

Submitted by Kimberly Burnette-Dean, Roanoke County (VA) Public Library