Let’s get your baby started on the road to becoming a reader in school by talking, reading and singing with your baby.
We will start with some general tips for language and literacy development which applies to any child from birth to 2 years of age.
Tips for Parents by Type
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Literacy Milestones
Class of 2027
BIRTH - 1 YEAR OF AGE
Babies love the sound of a reading voice. Reading aloud to infants stimulates brain cell growth and the formation of valuable learning connections.
What's beginning with language at...
2 months: Cooing (making long vowel sounds)
4 to 6 months: Babbling (adding consonants-even ones they never hear)
7 months: Recognizing what sounds familiar and what doesn’t
8 months: Assigning meaning to words
What works when reading...
Read anything you enjoy, as well as their new books.
Sing and say rhymes.
Gaze at each other.
Respond to their cries, coos, smiles, and movements
Gently touch, hold, and stroke them.
What this age group likes in books...
Brightly colored board books.
Simple pictures.
Putting books into their mouths.
Pictures of familiar objects.
Photos of babies.
Click the link below for a helpful chart of Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS) by the GA Department
of Education
Class of 2026
1-2 YEARS OF AGE
Language learning explodes during the second year. At about 18 months kids figure out what it’s all about and start asking, “What’s that?”
What's beginning with language at...
12 to 14 months: Identifying objects and learning nouns. Following simple one-step requests:“Get the ball.”
14 to 18 months: Learning new words proceeds slowly.
18 months: Eureka! Toddlers learn many new words a day and start speaking in short sentences.
What works when reading...
Share books at bedtime.
Take books with you to read when you have to wait.
Go to the library and bookstores. Find out about special times for babies and toddlers.
During story time let your child:
• Move around while you are reading.
• Choose and hold the book.
• Hear the same book over and over.
What this age group likes in books...
Sturdy books they can handle and carry.
Lift the flap books.
Photos and pictures of children eating, playing, bathing, sleeping.
Goodnight books for bedtime.
Only a few words on the page.
Simple rhymes and predictable text.
Click the link below for a helpful chart of Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS) by the GA Department
of Education
Class of 2025
2-3 YEARS OF AGE
Toddlers are beginning to learn the structure of language. They love to talk and will insist on reading the books they want again and again.
What's beginning with language at...
Toddlers are forming basic literacy concepts:
Print is speech written down.
Printed words in a book don’t change.
Stories in books have a structure that conveys meaning.
What works when reading...
Place books down low where your child can reach them.
Let your child:
• Choose books to read
• Hear the same book over and over.
• Move around while you are reading
• Turn pages.
• Fill in words in stories they know.
• Point to and name pictures.
• Make sounds – animal noises, trains, and silly sounds.
What this age group likes in books...
Paper pages as well as board books.
Silly and funny books.
Playing with language.
Rhymes, rhythms, and repetitive wording.
Books about:
• Children and families.
• Making friends.
• Food, animals, trucks and big machines
Click the link below for a helpful chart of Georgia Early Learning and Development Standards (GELDS) by the GA Department
of Education