Everyday Literacy: Environmental Print Activities for Children 3 to 8

As an early childhood professional, this is one of my favorite activity resources. We hear so much about the importance of environmental print in building early literacy skills, and this book shows how to incorporate these types of experiences in meaningful ways into the daily life of the classroom. The book is laid out the way teachers think and plan, with chapters divided into the various learning centers of a typical early childhood classroom. There is also a very useful "Theme Connections" index that ties the various activities to popular pre-k and kindergarten theme units, making lesson planning a breeze. The over 100 activity ideas included are simple, inexpensive, and wonderfully unique. The literacy learning objectives listed for each activity are a real help when trying to match specific activities to the different developmental levels and needs of the children in the group. And because these activities use everyday print items and recyclables that are so readily available, I have found it simple to adapt many of the activities to use with my own child at home. What a gem! I recommend this resource for anyone who wants to help children see themselves as readers.