Oral Language

Show your child the front cover of the book. Encourage her to tell you what she sees. For example:

“See the window on the front cover of this book. What do you see?

Why do you think all those animals are there?

What do you think this book will be about?”

Letter Knowledge

Read the title of the book, sweeping your finger under the words. Bring your child’s attention to the uppercase letter B.

You might say:

“Look Shelly. This is the uppercase letter B. B makes the /b/ sound. Can you say that with me /b/ /b/ B. Can you find another uppercase letter B on the front cover of this book? Look. Here is the letter B in the author’s name. The author’s name is Felicia Bond and she wrote the words in the book. Can you say /b/ /b/ B with me? /b/ /b/ B! We can listen for more words that begin with the /b/ /b/ sound.

Phonological Awareness

As you read, listen for rhyming words in the text. Encourage your child to do the motions described in the story. Say the rhyming pair of words together.

For example, while reading you might say:

“They all began to dance a jig and bumped into a baby__?__.” (Point to the picture of the pig and let your child answer.)

“Listen, jig/pig, jig/pig, those words sound the same. They rhyme. Can you dance a little jig? Say it with me, jig/pig; jig/pig! Let’s listen for more words that sound the same.”

Oral Language

As you read and come to new words, re-read the word and ask her if she knows what it means. For example:

“Zigging, zagging down the road, they bumped into a big green toad. Toad? What do you think a ‘toad’ is? Yes, a toad is the frog!”

Oral Language

Ask questions that will encourage conversations and recall events from the story. Listen to her answers and allow her to express her thoughts and ideas. Examples of questions can be: “How do you think ... ?; Why would they ... ?; Tell me about it.”

Beginning Writing

Ask your child if she had a favorite character from the story and encourage her to draw a picture of the character. Ask what the character is doing. You might even make up a simple rhyme. For example:

“Shelly drew a little cat,
Who fell asleep upon the mat.
The little cat is quite fat
And wears a pretty yellow hat.”

Explore more recommended children's books for two-year-olds, or find an at-home activity to help build important pre-reading skills.