Nature Play Studios

There is an idea in our society that learning to read is a switch to be flipped and that the earlier in life this switch is flipped, the better. As parents, educators and childcare providers, we know that the path to fluent and effective reading is long, gradual, and is most effective when done in a child-led, joy-filled style. This session will emphasize playful ideas and rich experiential events that help develop a strong foundation of literacy skills. We will talk about essential phonemic and phonological awareness skills and authentic engaging ways to support these, conversations to have when reading together to support comprehension skill development, and how for some children the key to growing stronger as a reader is to embrace their identity as a writer. We will discuss the importance of a growth mindset when growing as a reader and the pivotal roles that music, song, and storytelling can play.