Building Strong Foundations: Engaging Families in the 5 Early Literacy Skills Essential for Kindergarten Success

This presentation examines the five foundational early literacy skills that prepare children for success in kindergarten. These skills include phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This presentation highlights resources and methods that families can use to improve their child’s literacy skills. Research has been completed that analyzes the impact of screentime on the brains of young children, with a focus on productive screentime. High-quality technological content can enhance social and language skills for all children aged two years and older (Muppalla et al., 2023). Participants will be provided with high quality technological tools (such as apps and websites) that promote literacy skills for young children through interactive methods. Technology-free literacy activities (such as crafts and games) will also be explored. Extensive research has been conducted about the benefits of the literacy activities and apps.