Traffic signs, banners, advertisements...words are all around us.
As adults, we take reading for granted. We tend to forget that without our knowledge, we would not be able to read anything. It was not until I had my daughter - and started reading and pointing out words from all over town - that I realized this simple fact, and I thought, “What a perfect opportunity to teach outside of the box!"
I am happy to announce that it worked - for one day, out of the blue, my little girl said to me, “Mommy, that sign says ‘stop!'" My eyes grew big and my mouth dropped. “She really did pay attention to me!"
To this day, I seize every opportunity to read to my children, not limiting myself to books. By doing so, they acknowledge that those “letters" are actually words...words that are all around them.
