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Written by:

Cindy Reed-Brown, M. Ed
Preschool Education Consultant,
Board of Education and Services for the Blind
Windsor, Connecticut

Peggy Palmer, M.A.
Preschool Education Consultant
Board of Education and Services for the Blind
Windsor, Connecticut

The goal of this article is to share aspects of the pre-Braille curricula that we have found helpful for families who want to support their child's pre-literacy skills. This multi-sensory approach to reading readiness helps to build concept development, motor skills development, auditory and tactual discrimination skills. Most importantly, these strategies can help you help your child develop a love of reading.

What are some of the concepts a child needs in order to learn how to read?

• Body and Space Awareness: body part awareness, simple concepts of up/down, over/ under, top/bottom, front/back, left/ right and near/far.
• Identify Objects: labeling, concepts of same/different, big/little, wide/narrow, thick/ thin, hard/soft, empty/full, open/closed, heavy/light, few/many
• Time Awareness: yesterday, today, tomorrow, earlier/ late
• Braille "bumps" have meaning: they can identify, label, name and tell a story

What are the some of the motor skills a child needs in order to learn how to read?

• Upper body development: shoulder, arm, hand, and finger strength
• Hand Strength: reaching, grasping, releasing, and manipulating a variety of toys and materials
• Using hands together: coordinated together, hands doing different things at the same time

What are some of the tactual and auditory skills a child needs in order to learn how to read?

• Sound Identification: what object is making that sound?
• Sound matching, identification of tones: loud/soft, high/ low
• Identify the direction from which a sound comes
• Awareness of touch: naming textures, texture matching, hard/soft, rough/smooth
• Identify Shapes: circle, square, triangle, rectangle

How can we instill a love of reading in a child?

• Talk and write about every day experiences: create your own books
• Read with your child: use books with real objects, books with tactile pictures, books with a variety of textures, books that can be acted out, books on tape, your own recorded books
• Have Braille available for incidental contact: Favorite objects can be Braille labeled, Braille books and magazines available to your child in the home
• Engage the child in active participation of the story
• Create simple story boxes, story plays, tactile books

It seems truly magical when a child learns to read (and it is)!! But it is the culmination of many skills that must come together first. It is our hope that some of the ideas listed above will help you and your child on the way to literacy!