Motor: |
Cognitive |
What can parents do? |
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6-12 Months |
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| Reaches for book |
Looks at pictures |
Hold child comfortably; face-to- face gaze |
Book to mouth |
Vocalizes, pats pictures |
Follow baby's cues for "more" and "stop" |
Sits in lap, head steady |
Prefers pictures of faces |
Point and name pictures |
Turns pages with adult help |
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12-18 Months |
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| Sits without support |
No longer mouths right away |
Respond to child's prompting to read |
May carry book |
Points at pictures with one finger |
Let the child control the book |
Holds book with help |
May make same sounds for particular pictures (labels) |
Be comfortable with toddler's short attention span |
Turns board pages, several at a time |
Points when asked, "where is...?" |
Ask "where's the...?" and let child point |
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Turns book right side up |
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Gives book to adult to read |
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18-24 Months |
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Turns board book pages easily, one at a time |
Names familiar pictures |
Relate books to child's experiences |
Carries book around the house |
Fills in words in familiar stories |
Use books in routines, bedtimes |
May use book as a transitional object |
Pretends to read to dolls or stuffed toys |
Ask "what's that?", and give child time to answer |
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Recites parts of well-known stories |
Pause and let child complete the sentence |
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Attention span highly variable |
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24-36 Months |
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Learns to handle paper pages |
Recites whole phrases, sometimes whole stories |
Keep using books in routines |
Goes back in forth in books to find favorite pictures |
Coordinates text with picture |
Read at bedtime |
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Protests when adult gets a word wrong in a familiar story |
Be willing to read the same story over and over |
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Reads familiar book to self |
Ask "what's that?" |
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Relate books to child's experiences |
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Provide crayons and paper |
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3 Years and Up |
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Competent book handling |
Listens to longer stories |
Ask "what's happening?" |
Turns paper pages one at a time |
Can retell familiar story |
Encourage writing and drawing |
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Understands what text is |
Let child tell the story |
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Moves finger along text |
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"Writes" name |
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Moves toward letter recognition |
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