To order:

Learning to talk is the most important first step to learning to read.

It doesn’t take more time.

It takes more words.

To order:

Welcome to Families and Friends of PlaySmart Literacy.

We hope to share many minutes of
PLAY filled with WORDS with you.

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A Spanish version of The Gift of Words  is available from Play Smart Literacy intern Hope Orsi.

Check out the Spanish guide: http://bit.ly/eldondelaspalabras

Learn about the author, contributors and consultants working on this book. 

Find exciting and engaging activities for parents, children and professionals. 

Purpose

This website is aimed at increasing the language experiences parents have with their babies and toddlers. We hope the blog makes clear that learning to talk is not the same as learning to read, and that while schools may teach a child to read, moms and other adults at home teach a child to talk.  A child’s vocabulary before age 5 is important to success in school, at work, and in life.

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Parents may share with each other what works and what their children are learning when they learn new words. (It is not always what we think they are learning!)  The blog will explore simple ways for parents to add language to their time with their children. We will focus on easy strategies that don’t take more time, just more words:  say-what-you-see techniques, expanding children’s words that name their pre-mathematical thinking, authentic/inauthentic questioning, phonological awareness through singing, and storytelling.