September 30, 2025 • 12 mins
This episode dives into the world of emergent literacy. It explores the first steps in literacy from birth to age two. Host is developmental therapist, Kayla O'Neil and literacy expert, Lynne Hall.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:06):
Welcome to the EarlyChildhood On The Go
podcast. I'm yourhost, Kayla O'Neill,
and today we're divinginto the magical
world of emergentliteracy, those very
first steps in languageand reading that
began from birth toage two. With me again
is my colleague andfriend, Lynn Hall.
She's a researchassociate at the Early
Childhood Center andearly literacy expert.
(00:26):
Lynn, it's so greatto have you back.
Thanks, Kayla. I amso excited to be here.
The immersion stageis foundational. It's
when babies startdiscovering language in
ways that set them upfor future success.
Let's start withthe big picture.
What's actuallyhappening in emergent
literacy from birthto about age two?
(00:50):
So emergent literacyis all about early
skills that willeventually read children
to reading andwriting. But remember,
it doesn't comefrom formal lessons.
Emergent literacyactivities support
children for their skillsto unfold naturally
through play anddaily interactions.
(01:11):
So even babies are learningbefore they can talk?
Exactly.
From birth to sixmonths, babies are tuning
into voices andrhythms. They coo, they
smile, they recognizefamiliar sounds.
Research shows that their brainsare already wiring
connections in thatauditory cortex for language.
(01:33):
That's amazing. Sowhat happens next?
So by 6 to 12 months,babies start babbling.
Ba-ba, da-da, things like that.
They can point tofamiliar objects when
named, so they'restarting to understand
that everything hasits own name or word,
and their brain islinking sounds to
(01:55):
meanings. at the sametime pruning begins we
talked about this alittle bit last time
that's when theconnections that they use
often get stronger andthe ones they don't
use as much start tofade and that's when
the books reallystart to matter right
right so around a yearold toddlers might
(02:16):
pat pictures turnpages and even pretend
to read and by 18months they're saying
their first real wordslike mama or ball.
Then comes thevocabulary explosion. By
two years, they mayeven start stringing
words into shortphrases like more milk.
(02:38):
They sometimeseven mimic reading,
holding those booksupright and reading to
their stuffed animals.
All this showsthat they are growing
their print awarenessand their curiosity
about language.
So how can parentsand caregivers support
all of this growth?
And what does a print-rich environment look
like at this stage?
(03:00):
Yeah, so a print-rich environment is one that
surrounds childrenwith books and meaningful print.
It's really aboutmaking literacy and
print a part of theireveryday life. So
for infants, thatmight mean board books,
cloth books, eventhose waterproof books
that we like to givethem in the bath.
(03:22):
And toddlers likesomething different?
Yeah, right. Sotoddlers love those baby
books still, but theystart to really enjoy
those interactive books,the ones that have
the different textureson them or those
peekaboo flaps. And youcan also label everyday
objects like dooror cup with pictures
(03:44):
and words family photoswith names underneath
are great too childrenlove those and
one of my favorites isto create a cozy nook
with pillows withbaskets of books that
really invite toddlersto come and explore
books and like wetalked about in our last
episode Kayla we havelots of busy toddlers
that really don't liketo sit down and hear
(04:06):
a story so havingthese nook nooks with
those interactive booksand soft cozy places
to sit really enticesthem to engage more
with those materialsI love that idea and
it's so simple butit's really effective
like I remember havingwe had a big comfy
chair in our house andwe just keep a basket
of books next next toit and you know it was
(04:27):
a place where theywould sometimes just
explore books on theirown or they'd crawl
up into the chair withus and we'd do you
know a little story umI just love that tip
yeah it really is andit's something that
you don't have to thinkabout even having it
in just one place rightyou might have that
cozy nook with yourpillows and blankets
maybe in your family roomright but like you're
(04:47):
saying having thebooks in the bath time
and having books I waswhen my kids were little
I had that basket ofbooks in the bathroom
with their littlepotty seat because we
spent a lot of time tryingto get them interested
in the potty andthen when they got
interested sitting onthe potty so what another
great time that we canjust add more books
into their day andreally any daily routine
(05:09):
can become a literacymoment right you know
when we're thinkingabout our meal times
can we read the foodlabels can we talk about
the print on the frontof our canned vegetables
that kind of thingwhen you're going on
a walk pointing out allof that environmental
print on the signslike the stop sign the
pedestrian crossingthose kinds of things
(05:30):
We talked a littlebit about bath time,
but then puttingthose foam letters
in there that kindof float and they
can stick them ontothe walls is fun.
When print feels likea part of their world,
children reallystart to see books as
joyful and not aswork. And that's
really what we wantto do. We want them
to be excited aboutbooks for it to be
(05:51):
something that theylook forward to
and that gives thempositive feelings.
And I love your ideaabout, you know, adding
it really to thosedaily routines, because
we know parents arebusy and if you can add
it to something thatyou're already doing
it becomes a habit youknow if you read a book
during bath time you'regoing to remember
and it's not adding onemore thing it's just
you know part of theday so I love that and
(06:13):
I'd love to talk evenmore about you know
some practical thingsfor everybody listening
what are some funactivities that parents
can try to really boostlanguage during these
years yeah so forinfants those FaceTime
chats are reallywonderful and important.
Holding your baby closeand narrating what
(06:33):
you're doing with someexaggerated expressions
can be really helpful.
Singing lullabies andnursery rhymes adds
rhythm and sound playto the interaction.
How about older babies?
So for our olderbabies, let's say around
six to 12 months, theyreally start to enjoy
those touch and feelbooks. You know,
(06:54):
the ones that they cankind of squeeze and
crunch up, that kindof thing. You want to
pause so they can patthose different textures
while you're namingthem. Lots of the
animal books thattoddlers love have the
different textures likethe fur that's soft
or the tongue thatmight be rough, that
kind of thing. Andwe're saying soft bunny,
(07:15):
rough tongue,playing peekaboo games
with books or scarvescan build anticipation
and really encourageour older babies to
give us some vocalresponse. How about
our toddler friends?
Our little toddlersfrom 12 to 18
months pointing andnaming games are lots
of fun. They enjoythose, you know,
(07:36):
the whole what'sthis, what's that.
If you're on a walk,you can point and say,
look, a big tree. Andthose action songs
that you can sing likethe itsy bitsy spider
with those gestures wereally want our toddlers
to start imitatingmore of those finger
play gestures and inthose family photos
saying who's that tospark our toddlers to
(08:00):
start babbling and eventelling their own little
stories about what'shappening how about
by about age two orso when we're thinking
about our toddlers ourlittle older toddlers
18 to 24 months,rhyming games are great.
Read books with rhymesand emphasize those
sound patterns thatthe sounds at the
end of the words soundthe same. Playing
(08:22):
some echo games, youmight say, you say
up, I say up, thatkind of thing. Even
block play can becomea literacy activity
when you're narratingas you're stacking
those blocks on topof each other and
you're saying up,up, up. And remember,
the goal is to keepit short, playful,
joyful. If your toddleris not interested,
(08:43):
walk away, come backat another time.
I love how theseactivities are not only
great for literacy,but they also double
as that bondingtime for connection.
One term that comes up a lotis language
modeling. Why is thatso important in this stage?
So language modeling is reallyimportant because
(09:05):
it's all about givingchildren rich
examples of speech.
Babies thrive on hearing variedvocabulary and
sentence patterns.
It literally strengthensthe pathways in their brain.
How about toddlers?
So with toddlers,language modeling expands
(09:25):
their words. So forexample, if they
say ball, you can replywith, yes, the red
ball is bouncing.
This is going to teachthem grammar, new
words, and really theflow of conversation
without any pressure.
Research says thatmodeling boosts vocabulary,
comprehension, andchildren's confidence.
(09:48):
So we're not, you know,giving them drills
of any sort. It's moreabout just talking and
expanding on whatthey're already saying.
Exactly that, Kayla.
Without languagemodeling, children miss
chances to connectwords to real life. With
language modeling, theygrow into confident
communicators and laterconfident readers.
(10:11):
This has been sointeresting. But before
we wrap up, what areyour top takeaways
for parents ofinfants and toddlers?
I would say start early.
Talk, sing, and read everyday. And even though
these concepts areprobably not new for most
families. Beingintentional about it can
(10:34):
make a huge difference.
A lot of times wethink we're doing these
things more frequentlythan we are. Make
books and print partof daily life. Model
language patiently.
Celebrate every milestoneno matter how small.
Remembering thatall children develop
at their own pace andthe age guidelines
(10:54):
that we kind ofabout today are very
general, typicaltoddler and baby
development, but there'sa huge spectrum to
consider. And maybemost importantly,
limit that screentime with our infants
and our toddlersso that our real
interactions havethe opportunity to be
(11:14):
prioritized becausethat is going to be what
makes the biggestdifference for them.
That's wonderfuladvice, Lynn. Thank
you so much forguiding us through this
critical stage. Mypleasure, Kayla.
And that's our episodeof early childhood
on the go. Thankyou for listening
and don't forget tosubscribe and share.
Welcome to the EarlyChildhood On The Go
podcast. I'm yourhost, Kayla O'Neill,
and today we're divinginto the magical
world of emergentliteracy, those very
first steps in languageand reading that
began from birth toage two. With me again
is my colleague andfriend, Lynn Hall.
She's a researchassociate at the Early
Childhood Center andearly literacy expert.
(00:26):
Lynn, it's so greatto have you back.
Thanks, Kayla. I amso excited to be here.
The immersion stageis foundational. It's
when babies startdiscovering language in
ways that set them upfor future success.
Let's start withthe big picture.
What's actuallyhappening in emergent
literacy from birthto about age two?
(00:50):
So emergent literacyis all about early
skills that willeventually read children
to reading andwriting. But remember,
it doesn't comefrom formal lessons.
Emergent literacyactivities support
children for their skillsto unfold naturally
through play anddaily interactions.
(01:11):
So even babies are learningbefore they can talk?
Exactly.
From birth to sixmonths, babies are tuning
into voices andrhythms. They coo, they
smile, they recognizefamiliar sounds.
Research shows that their brainsare already wiring
connections in thatauditory cortex for language.
(01:33):
That's amazing. Sowhat happens next?
So by 6 to 12 months,babies start babbling.
Ba-ba, da-da, things like that.
They can point tofamiliar objects when
named, so they'restarting to understand
that everything hasits own name or word,
and their brain islinking sounds to
(01:55):
meanings. at the sametime pruning begins we
talked about this alittle bit last time
that's when theconnections that they use
often get stronger andthe ones they don't
use as much start tofade and that's when
the books reallystart to matter right
right so around a yearold toddlers might
(02:16):
pat pictures turnpages and even pretend
to read and by 18months they're saying
their first real wordslike mama or ball.
Then comes thevocabulary explosion. By
two years, they mayeven start stringing
words into shortphrases like more milk.
(02:38):
They sometimeseven mimic reading,
holding those booksupright and reading to
their stuffed animals.
All this showsthat they are growing
their print awarenessand their curiosity
about language.
So how can parentsand caregivers support
all of this growth?
And what does a print-rich environment look
like at this stage?
(03:00):
Yeah, so a print-rich environment is one that
surrounds childrenwith books and meaningful print.
It's really aboutmaking literacy and
print a part of theireveryday life. So
for infants, thatmight mean board books,
cloth books, eventhose waterproof books
that we like to givethem in the bath.
(03:22):
And toddlers likesomething different?
Yeah, right. Sotoddlers love those baby
books still, but theystart to really enjoy
those interactive books,the ones that have
the different textureson them or those
peekaboo flaps. And youcan also label everyday
objects like dooror cup with pictures
(03:44):
and words family photoswith names underneath
are great too childrenlove those and
one of my favorites isto create a cozy nook
with pillows withbaskets of books that
really invite toddlersto come and explore
books and like wetalked about in our last
episode Kayla we havelots of busy toddlers
that really don't liketo sit down and hear
(04:06):
a story so havingthese nook nooks with
those interactive booksand soft cozy places
to sit really enticesthem to engage more
with those materialsI love that idea and
it's so simple butit's really effective
like I remember havingwe had a big comfy
chair in our house andwe just keep a basket
of books next next toit and you know it was
(04:27):
a place where theywould sometimes just
explore books on theirown or they'd crawl
up into the chair withus and we'd do you
know a little story umI just love that tip
yeah it really is andit's something that
you don't have to thinkabout even having it
in just one place rightyou might have that
cozy nook with yourpillows and blankets
maybe in your family roomright but like you're
(04:47):
saying having thebooks in the bath time
and having books I waswhen my kids were little
I had that basket ofbooks in the bathroom
with their littlepotty seat because we
spent a lot of time tryingto get them interested
in the potty andthen when they got
interested sitting onthe potty so what another
great time that we canjust add more books
into their day andreally any daily routine
(05:09):
can become a literacymoment right you know
when we're thinkingabout our meal times
can we read the foodlabels can we talk about
the print on the frontof our canned vegetables
that kind of thingwhen you're going on
a walk pointing out allof that environmental
print on the signslike the stop sign the
pedestrian crossingthose kinds of things
(05:30):
We talked a littlebit about bath time,
but then puttingthose foam letters
in there that kindof float and they
can stick them ontothe walls is fun.
When print feels likea part of their world,
children reallystart to see books as
joyful and not aswork. And that's
really what we wantto do. We want them
to be excited aboutbooks for it to be
(05:51):
something that theylook forward to
and that gives thempositive feelings.
And I love your ideaabout, you know, adding
it really to thosedaily routines, because
we know parents arebusy and if you can add
it to something thatyou're already doing
it becomes a habit youknow if you read a book
during bath time you'regoing to remember
and it's not adding onemore thing it's just
you know part of theday so I love that and
(06:13):
I'd love to talk evenmore about you know
some practical thingsfor everybody listening
what are some funactivities that parents
can try to really boostlanguage during these
years yeah so forinfants those FaceTime
chats are reallywonderful and important.
Holding your baby closeand narrating what
(06:33):
you're doing with someexaggerated expressions
can be really helpful.
Singing lullabies andnursery rhymes adds
rhythm and sound playto the interaction.
How about older babies?
So for our olderbabies, let's say around
six to 12 months, theyreally start to enjoy
those touch and feelbooks. You know,
(06:54):
the ones that they cankind of squeeze and
crunch up, that kindof thing. You want to
pause so they can patthose different textures
while you're namingthem. Lots of the
animal books thattoddlers love have the
different textures likethe fur that's soft
or the tongue thatmight be rough, that
kind of thing. Andwe're saying soft bunny,
(07:15):
rough tongue,playing peekaboo games
with books or scarvescan build anticipation
and really encourageour older babies to
give us some vocalresponse. How about
our toddler friends?
Our little toddlersfrom 12 to 18
months pointing andnaming games are lots
of fun. They enjoythose, you know,
(07:36):
the whole what'sthis, what's that.
If you're on a walk,you can point and say,
look, a big tree. Andthose action songs
that you can sing likethe itsy bitsy spider
with those gestures wereally want our toddlers
to start imitatingmore of those finger
play gestures and inthose family photos
saying who's that tospark our toddlers to
(08:00):
start babbling and eventelling their own little
stories about what'shappening how about
by about age two orso when we're thinking
about our toddlers ourlittle older toddlers
18 to 24 months,rhyming games are great.
Read books with rhymesand emphasize those
sound patterns thatthe sounds at the
end of the words soundthe same. Playing
(08:22):
some echo games, youmight say, you say
up, I say up, thatkind of thing. Even
block play can becomea literacy activity
when you're narratingas you're stacking
those blocks on topof each other and
you're saying up,up, up. And remember,
the goal is to keepit short, playful,
joyful. If your toddleris not interested,
(08:43):
walk away, come backat another time.
I love how theseactivities are not only
great for literacy,but they also double
as that bondingtime for connection.
One term that comes up a lotis language
modeling. Why is thatso important in this stage?
So language modeling is reallyimportant because
(09:05):
it's all about givingchildren rich
examples of speech.
Babies thrive on hearing variedvocabulary and
sentence patterns.
It literally strengthensthe pathways in their brain.
How about toddlers?
So with toddlers,language modeling expands
(09:25):
their words. So forexample, if they
say ball, you can replywith, yes, the red
ball is bouncing.
This is going to teachthem grammar, new
words, and really theflow of conversation
without any pressure.
Research says thatmodeling boosts vocabulary,
comprehension, andchildren's confidence.
(09:48):
So we're not, you know,giving them drills
of any sort. It's moreabout just talking and
expanding on whatthey're already saying.
Exactly that, Kayla.
Without languagemodeling, children miss
chances to connectwords to real life. With
language modeling, theygrow into confident
communicators and laterconfident readers.
(10:11):
This has been sointeresting. But before
we wrap up, what areyour top takeaways
for parents ofinfants and toddlers?
I would say start early.
Talk, sing, and read everyday. And even though
these concepts areprobably not new for most
families. Beingintentional about it can
(10:34):
make a huge difference.
A lot of times wethink we're doing these
things more frequentlythan we are. Make
books and print partof daily life. Model
language patiently.
Celebrate every milestoneno matter how small.
Remembering thatall children develop
at their own pace andthe age guidelines
(10:54):
that we kind ofabout today are very
general, typicaltoddler and baby
development, but there'sa huge spectrum to
consider. And maybemost importantly,
limit that screentime with our infants
and our toddlersso that our real
interactions havethe opportunity to be
(11:14):
prioritized becausethat is going to be what
makes the biggestdifference for them.
That's wonderfuladvice, Lynn. Thank
you so much forguiding us through this
critical stage. Mypleasure, Kayla.
And that's our episodeof early childhood
on the go. Thankyou for listening
and don't forget tosubscribe and share.
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