Your toddler asks if you’re going to “The Red Store.” He knows when you’ve just passed “Hamburger House” because of those ever-present yellow M’s! She tells you to stop when the stop sign is yards away.
Guess what? Your child is reading! Yes, reading! Of course, it’s not the type of reading we often think of, sounding out phonics, blending sounds, moving on to chapter books. Your child is reading environmental print: labels and signs in the world around us.
Environmental print comes in many forms. Cereal boxes, brand name logos, or road signs to name a few.
My boys love cars, so we just finished up some activities this week learning about environmental print in road signs.
Find all the ideas and activities in my guest post at the Melissa & Doug blog: All the “Signs” of Pre-Literacy – Environmental Print Activities!
Have your children begun noticing and reading environmental print yet? It’s so much fun when this begins!
Lynn B
Tuesday 16th of September 2014
My 2 1/2 year old has started giving running commentary as we drive around "That is the fish store" "That is the pet store" and he knows Target anywhere! We've driven past a Target he's never seen before and he's piped up with "That is Target". Hubby and I were amazed but they are all quite well branded and red is very noticeable.
Lynn B
Tuesday 16th of September 2014
My 2 1/2 year old has started giving running commentary as we drive around "That is the fish store" "That is the pet store" and he knows Target anywhere! We've driven past a Target he's never seen before and he's piped up with "That is Target". Hubby and I were amazed but they are all quite well branded and red is very noticeable.
Trisha W.
Tuesday 16th of September 2014
When my oldest was little he called McDonald's the french fry store. Our budget was tight so pretty much the only time he had McDonald's was when my parents treated him to a Happy Meal. They didn't live in the same area as us so such treats were not frequent. I loved that he recognized the restaurant but didn't know the real name. My husband and I had tried to not point out McDonald's because we knew it wasn't a treat we would be able to provide at the time. Fortunately, my kiddos have never expected nor demanded to have special treats/foods.
Trisha W.
Tuesday 16th of September 2014
When my oldest was little he called McDonald's the french fry store. Our budget was tight so pretty much the only time he had McDonald's was when my parents treated him to a Happy Meal. They didn't live in the same area as us so such treats were not frequent. I loved that he recognized the restaurant but didn't know the real name. My husband and I had tried to not point out McDonald's because we knew it wasn't a treat we would be able to provide at the time. Fortunately, my kiddos have never expected nor demanded to have special treats/foods.