This giveaway is closed.
The next giveaway is from The Little Stamp Company.
This company was originally developed by a mom when her daughter was three years old and learning how to spell and print her name. She was continually ‘printing’ her name in dots so she could trace the letters. It repeatedly took a long time to “dot” Mackenzie’s name so she thought – why not create a fun stamp?
The self inking stamp allows kids to use their stamp on any paper. Rather than sitting with ‘worksheets’ to practice, children can learn to print in a fun and engaging way by actively stamping their name.
I love supporting mompreneurs, so I’m happy to promote The Little Stamp Company and provide Simple Mom readers with a creative tool to further their children’s learning.
They want to give two Simple Mom readers one personalized stamp!
To win, here’s how to enter:
Leave a comment at this post, answering the following question: What’s one tip you use to encourage literacy with your little ones?
The giveaway is open worldwide, and it lasts until this Friday, May 29. I’ll draw the two winners this weekend.
I hope you win! Check back tomorrow for more giveaways.
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I am lucky that both my kids have a passion for reading (which they get from mom and dad), so we don’t have to do much to encourage literacy in our home. My kids are only 2 and 3, so they are getting the foundation of what I hope to be a lifelong love of reading.
i have books everywhere. we recently moved and have access to two different libraries. we spend time at both and borrow books from both. i remember asking what the limit for check-outs where and they told me 30. i remember thinking to myself…well, who ever reaches that limit? *raising hand* i guess i do now! and we read alot. not as much as i would like. but more than before.
My girls love to read so I don’t really need to encourage them, I find at times that I need to tell them to go to bed. We make weekly trips to the library as well as having a small library of our own. You can never start to early with literacy!
We have books everywhere…in every room and at their level. In the girls room they have a bookshelf and baskets full of books. In the playroom, another basket. In the living room, a reading nook with a child-size chair and two more baskets full of books. In the den, kids magazines. In the office, more books. In the basement (unfinished, but with a fort)…another basket of books! If I took all the books out of the house, they would be bored to death! They also get 5 books at nap time and bed time to read before they fall asleep.
Jill Foley´s last blog post…Evening Picnic
My daughter is only three months but I’m following the suggestions on a previous post on this site. I let her chew on one book that she has. We read one store together everyday from a chapter book that has big colorful pictures and I try to get some reading in, myself, everyday. After I get some more books for her, I plan to add a storytime in the afternoon too.
Well, my little one is only 1 1/2. But we’ve been reading to him daily since the time he was born. He loves to be read to and to sit and “read” his books. I guess I don’t feel like we have to do any encouraging at this point, and hopefully that won’t change!!! One thing I guess is we already take family trips to the library, and all three of us get books. He also sees the two of us reading often. I think we are growing ourselves a little reader, which makes me so happy!
Our little one is 1, and she already loves “reading” by opening the pages of a board book and jabbering away to herself in her adorable baby language. I’m hoping we won’t have to do much to encourage her reading, we are both avid readers- with noses in books every chance we get, we read aloud to her all the time, and our home is filled with books, and I frequent the local library often… Hopefully that will be enough to add a 3rd bookworm to our household!
Letting him enjoy the book, even if it means sometimes chewing on it! I want him to love books and when he does, he will learn to care for them properly.
Reading Reading Reading. My husband and I love to read and share our excitement and joy of what we can find in a book. All of our boys love to read books as well.
Christina´s last blog post…Family Fun in the Sun… at the right price!
I buy a ton of books! So many books!
I think the best way is to have them see you reading. Children are little mimics and will do anything you do.
I’m like everyone else – we read! The kids and I all jumble onto the couch for 30 minutes a day and I read aloud to them. Right now we’re reading The Chronicles of Narnia series.
Emily´s last blog post…Coming up for air
The biggest thing I do is read myself…I always have a book with me…and if there is a chance I will read it…and she sees me doing that
we read, read, read. not just to them, but they see us reading. and we work on sounds letter make from early ages.
We read some every day – and our 2 year old loves it! I am always having him repeat after me when I am naming things, or saying the alphabet. He’s got really good pronunciation, so hopefully what we’re doing is working well!
My son just started reading one day, so I can’t take any credit there! With my daughter, I have been giving her a word to look for on each page, like “ball” or “this” or “Princess” so she gets used to differentiating the words. Mostly we try to read as much as she will sit still for. <– (And apparently I shouldn’t be teaching grammar!)
Lee´s last blog post…A Tale of Two Princesses
my daughter also has a passion for reading, luckily. she had some hearing issues when she was young from persistent ear infections and developed an extremely visual learning style. her speech therapist suggested that i label everything in our house with it’s name and that has done wonders for her reading! i was worried it would reduce the effectiveness of learning phonics but it has actually been extremely helpful. it gives us a chance to talk about rules and patterns.
also, she’s obsessed with finding things that rhyme. rhyming games have helped with her literacy.
I read to my girls…….they love me to read to them!
I have six kids, three are married, three still at home. We still read aloud almost everyday!! Keep reading aloud even when they can read themselves. They all like to read now, but have lots of different favorites and styles. When we get together at family gatherings, we often talk about the books we shared together. Being able to talk about books together has been a great unifying thing!! Oh yea, reading out loud on trips is a great way to spend car time or boring sitting time, or around the campfire time.
I try to not say no when they ask for a story, even when I am busy like crazy!
Lee-Ann´s last blog post…We need bees
Read, read, read to them, and let them see you reading. Also when our children “graduate” from afternoon naps, they spend part of the “quiet time” having “reading time”.
I’m a librarian – so we go to weekly library programs and read before every nap and at night time – and throughout the day. Gotta love books!
Oh boy, I love to read! I am so thankful I work part-time in a classroom of 5 to 8 year-olds so that when my kids are past picture books I can still enjoy them!
This summer I am setting up a “Storytime Tree” in our garden. The idea is from one of MaryJane Butters books, MaryJane’s Outpost. For several years now one of our favorite “down time” things to do is to grab a comfy blanket and a pile of library books and head outside. The idea with the Storytime Tree is to have a place that’s all set for reading outside. A magical place to inspire a love of reading!
Make reading a normal part of every day life. My husband and I both read frequently, and we’re pleased to see that our 2.5 year old is already following suit.
Another fun giveaway!!! I have read to my kids every night before bed until they were able to read on their own and now I sit by them and listen to them read (one of my favorite night rituals!)
Nathalie´s last blog post…TTT June kit: Carolee’s Creations Fern Collection and more
I love children’s books and read a lot to my girls. Even my 3 year old will pick out words in other places that she sees in books that we have read over and over. We enjoy time at the library!! My 7 year old takes books EVERYWHERE we go!
We love to read outloud together!
My tip? Just read! We started reading with our daughter when she was still eating books. Now, she loves reading, as well as our regular trips to the library.
Read, read, read, and read some more! Reading aloud is one of the simplest and best ways to encourage our children’s literacy.
Jamie
steadymom.com´s last blog post…A Rainbow Birthday Party
How neat! I think the biggest encourager of literacy is to READ, READ, READ to your child!
Amber´s last blog post…~ Josiah Says… family edition ~
I read to my daughter–a lot. Like all the time.
This is probably what everyone does, but I encourage literacy by reading with my daughter at least twice a day. We started this as soon as she was interested in pictures, probably around 8 months.
Lindsey´s last blog post…Disney Day
We read together every day. We also just started playing the alphabet game in the car (finding the ABCs in order on signs we pass) and the kids love it.
Letter magnets are great! You can get them at the dollar store. You can use these to practice colors (find all the green ones) as well as letter identification (find me the A.) Start with a few at a time, then add more in later. When the kids are older, they can “write” their names or other words. Once they enter grade school, they can use these to practice spelling words. If you use the magnets on the frig, it’s a great activity to do when you are working in the kitchen. You can also use these on a cookie sheet for a more portable activity.
We love to visit the library which keeps the reading materials new and exciting.
My son LOVES to hand the librarian his library card at the library, which makes him excited to go, which makes him excited about new books…also, we love to read books in different places-Mom and Dad’s bed, outside in the yard, etc.
Kim´s last blog post…Fayetteville Sunday-Thursday
My son is two, so we are just beginning to lay the foundation. He loves the tv show Word World, so we purchased foam letters for the bathtub and we “build” words on the wall during his bath each night. We try to stick to short words and sound them out! The other key thing we do (in addition to the standard book reading before naptime and bedtime) is sing the alphabet everytime we change his diaper. We started the alphabet singing around 18 months and now he can sing the whole thing himself!
Of course we READ!! We also participate in library time at our local library branch that encourages reading, fingerplay, activites, songs and crafts.
Let your children see you own enthusiasm for reading. If they see you taking time to sit and enjoy reading, they will want to do it as well!
My sister-in-law is an elementary school teacher and she told me the best thing you can do is read to your children everyday. We also take lots of trips to the library and book stores.
We spend a lot of time reading books–in the car, in her playhut, on the couch, before bed, before breakfast. . . — and we go to the library to stock up on different books every couple of weeks. My daughter is only 15 months, but she loves books.
I love to read with my kids. I was inspired by the Nester and made a little secret room for my daughter to read in – we don’t have the lighting in there yet, so for now Emma has enjoyed sitting in there with her little flashlight and read. Sweet! We also enjoy taking part in our city’s library summer reading club. And last year we joined Barnes & Noble’s club too. Blessings,
Marie
blog: http://emmacallsmemama.com
email: marie@waltercom.com
Marie´s last blog post…Memorial Day thank-you
We’ve started the Doman reading cards with our daughter. She’s been book obsessed since she was first able to turn the pages of her board books (and many are now more tape than book now), so we figured we’d give the cards a try. She loves them, and recognizes a few favorite words out of context. And of course we read to/with/around her all the time, too.
A big thing is just having lots of books around for them. Our oldest taught himself to fully read by the time he was 4. Something that has worked well with our daughter is to make word cards with all the words (one per card) in a simple book. Simply read through them a couple of times a day…no repeating or anything, she just looks at them. It has helped her remember words amazingly well & she is so excited now that she’s starting to recognize words.
We read, read, read! I hope my 3 year old continues to love books as much as she does right now.
Read to them whenever you can. Use your fingers to follow the words.
My daughter is still so little — we read to her every day and I can’t wait to set up a little reading corner or nook when she’s old enough to browse through the “stacks” on her own.
Allegra´s last blog post…After a great holiday weekend…
I was and still am, an avid reader! When my daughter was an infant, I enrolled her in a “book club” where I got ALL the classic children’s books. Repetitive reading of the same book for a week would definitely help word recognition as she got older! I am proud to say, she is in Honors English in High School!
Veronica´s last blog post…Memorial Day
My oldest is only 2 but loves books. Library time is a fun after-dinner family time where we all read together. Chloe loves it! John is 9 months and I don’t think he cares
I *LOVE* reading, and books. I always have, probably since I was a wee little tot. I have 2 wonderful kids (3 and 1) who also *LOVE* books! My son (3) is able to point out all sorts of stuff, he shares this information with his little sister (1). They can IDENTIFY book photos with everyday objects.
They definitely got their book/reading-love gene from me!
I know it’s basic, but we encourage my niece to read by doing it all the time. We read to her often and let her see us reading as well.
I love to read, so setting an example of reading for fun is one thing I do to encourage literacy for my little guy!
We sounded it out! My daughter first learned her alphabet and then we made a game of the sounds the letters make (“What does S say?” “Sssss!”), and from there we moved on to sounding out random words we saw while walking through the city. At first she sounded out each letter individually, but once she caught on to blending the letters together she was elated by how much fun reading was and was sounding everything out!
Another technique I incorporated was to read a story, and then go back through the pages and say a word on the page (easy ones to begin with) and have her point them out with her stubby preschool fingers. In no time at all, she was reading to me at bedtime!
The more you praise and encourage while blending learning and play, the easier it is for little ones to catch on to the joy of reading.
My daughter was able to read independently by the age of 4 and still loves to read as much today as she did the day she first discovered she could do it all by herself!
We make reading a priority every single day. There is never a time that we don’t have a giant stack of books out of the library, and never a day goes by that we don’t read aloud to our girls. Not to mention the books that are taking over our home! We love reading, so they do as well.
We just read… all the time! As a former teacher, I know that’s just about the best thing we can do to promote literacy with our little ones.
Sarah´s last blog post…Filled Up
I read everything to my daughter (nearly two). signs, books, papers, whatever. For example, we were sitting in the airport waiting for our flight, and I read the sign beside us to her, then read out individual letters as she pointed to them. She knows the difference between letters and numbers already, and while she isn’t recognizing specific letters so far as I’ve noticed, I think that she can tell the difference between the letters and numbers already before she’s even two is a good enough start to encourage me to keep at what can sometimes drive myself a bit crazy!! (lol!)
I don’t have the best tip except to read, read, read to your children. We visit our library weekly!!! The kids get to choose what ever book they want…. And I set the example. If I’m reading regularly maybe my children will see it as a norm and continue the trend.
The one thing I do to encourage literacy, is to love and respect books myself. My daughters (3 and almost 1) hopefully will develop into avid readers and writers…
I used to teach 2nd grade and without a shadow of doubt, the best way to promote literacy is to READ EVERYTHING. Let your kids see you read for fun, and read signs, newspapers, recipes, magazines, ads, letters, emails together!
Sheila´s last blog post…Thank God for Synonyms
frequent trips to the library, and also story times at home
To encourage literacy in our house we keep a steady rotation of in-season books in baskets in the family room. I also incourage my children to “read” while we are shopping and driving. They both love to find words on strange objects.
My children have to be in bed by 8pm, but get to keep the lights on for 30 more minutes (8:30) if they are reading, otherwise the lights have to go off at 8. Also, my 11 year old earned $5 dollars last summer for every chapter book he read over the summer (>250 pages)
Besides reading to my kids a ton we also listen to audio books and use starfall.com. I try to do letter recognition activities with my kids whenever I can including using pretzel sticks at lunch to make edible letters. Thanks for the cool giveaway!
Besides reading books, we like writing our own books, I will have the kids tell me their story and they draw the pictures as short and strange as the stories can be, they learn to recognize certain words.
Kristin Doyle´s last blog post…Sprinkler Park – Trip Blip – Olympia, WA
I know reading is the obvious answer, but as a former science teacher, I encourage questioning and thinking through problems and imagination. We don’t write mindless rows of ABCs, rather write words like items on a menu for Katie to play restaurant with. I think fostering a good sense of imagination is something that I saw missing from many of my middle and high school students.
We visit the library alot! My oldest child is a bookworm..and I’m hoping the other 2 will follow in her footsteps.
I like to get a variety of books. Some fiction, some nonfiction, and some that relate to what we’re learning in school. And then I just fill the book basket and let ‘em go at it!
We read a lot! We go to the library weekly to keep the books fresh. Our library does a fantastic storytime for the little ones and they look forward to it each week.
Read read read! We also love a lot of the leapfrog products!
Read to them! Everyday!!!
I encourage them to read street and store signs when we are out and about. Even my little ones were able to recognize and spell common street signs at two years old. By encouraging them to look around that the world we live in, they have discovered a world of words all around them too. Plus keeps them interested while we are running around doing errands!
I usually just describe how much I truly love to read. My oldest is just turned 5 and is starting to learn to read, so I really hope she loves it as much as I do.
We read at naptime and bedtime and several times in between. Plus we go to the library every one to two weeks. We love to read in our house!
We use reading a great way to calm our 20 month old down when he’s getting worked up or upset. I guess in hopes that he’ll learn to turn to books as a way to centre himself and escape a little from life’s stressors. It gives us a chance to be quite with him and snuggle a little and let him have a positive outlet when he’s feeling overwhelmed by life.
Jen´s last blog post…Fix, Freeze, Feast and Toddler Firsts
reading seems to be the best for our kids. we let our kids watch Word World on PBS too which has jogged some creativity in trying to make words
i encourage reading by actually sitting down & reading to my preschooler. he enjoys the books and i enjoy the extra cuddle time!
I make books accessible everywhere in our home. I put board books in bins that can be reached even by our 11 month old. Our older boys get reading time alone before lights out and we go to the library a ton!
Read together alot, visit the library often, encourage them to “read” and tell their own stories…and turn off the TV!
My toddler loves books more than anything already, so I don’t have to encourage her to pick them up
Audrey´s last blog post…Giant Carrots and a Big Sister Shirt
We started reading to my son (now 3 yo) when he was 6 mths old. We have books all over the house and we read to him before bed (and before afternoon nap time until he gave them up
). He now “reads” independently without any encouragement from me which is really satisfying – makes me a proud mama! We have been working on recognising letters for a while now too. We started with his initials – he can spot a D or M from a mile away and is very proud of himself when he spots one and points it out to us. We are regularly adding letters now.
I read to my children a lot and they see me reading so they want to read as well.
We use stamps quite a bit. And also the Alphabet Cookies from Trader Joe’s. And, of course, lots and lots of books.
molly´s last blog post…So, I’ve Been Baking
We have reading time before nap times and bed times. I make an effort to keep books around the house. And we make it to our local libraries at least twice a month. Not only that, we make learning a priority. Even the simple daily moments can turn into teaching moments. Recognizing letters on signs, reading labels one boxes, so forth. My daughter was able to learn to read all the letters of the alphabet and know the sounds to each of the letters by the time she was 2 1/2. We play games like what letter does this word start with?
My daughter is only 18 months so we haven’t had to do too much, yet. However, I believe that reading to/with your kids is one of the most important thing you can do, and we started doing that when she was really young.
Book time is a special time every night in our home, and we also include weekly library visits. I am an OT and think the stamp is a brilliant idea to help kids learn!
My kids are still pre-reader age but we encourage literacy by surrounding them with books and print. We constantly are reading and talking about stories.
Christy@pipandsqueak´s last blog post…
Our daughter is only 11 months old, but we’ve been reading to her since she was born. Now she knows exactly what a book is, holds it up to her face and “reads” aloud.
My son loves books he’ll seek them out over toys! We feel it’s important not only to read to him but to also let him see us reading quietly to ourselves. We read a lot around the house and it seems he’s always got a book in his hand. I think the best thing we can do is lead by example. Love this stamp idea by the way!
Sherri (Serene Journey)´s last blog post…8 Steps to Hosting a Party Everyone Enjoys – Including Yourself
we read of course, but we also choose books that have excellent vocabulary and language as well as good stories. just good books all together. i think that really enforces literacy at an early age. as an elementary teacher i also used lots of fun games using characters from popular books to encourage it even more. we also love to buy books as gifts for others.
I try to never say no when my son asks me to read him a book. I also try to make sure he sees me reading for fun myself. I hope I win; my son would love this!
My son really started to love reading when he realized he could read to the little ones. He is so proud when they ask him to read to them or when I ask him to help me by reading them a little story.
My 18mo son has more books than toys. He likes to read them by himself so I don’t get to read to him a whole lot (he reads to me instead) and I give him a book to read when he goes to bed. He loves it. It’s better than candy!
We’ve read to our 20-month old every day, for an hour or more some days, since he was 2 months old. He has his own little book nook, with his favourite books and a soft spot to read. It is his most favourite place in this house. If you can’t find Alasdair, it’s because he’s quietly reading to himself in his “nook nook.” He has loads of magnetic letters on a white board. And a chalk board with oodles of chalk. And oh how we love to make lists, the grown ups, and oh how he loves to help us make those lists.
Kristin´s last blog post…Stitchin’
We read, read, read all the time!
Use the library! We go all of the time!
Maria´s last blog post…Recipe for Rhubarb Sorbet
We love to read! My sweet girl and I are currently reading the Little House on the Prairie books together at night. But to encourage her to put into practice her reading and writing skills … I started her a blog of her own. I put on it writings from school and home, art things she’s done, etc. She’s finishing up 3rd grade this year and by the end of the summer she will be doing all the blogging on her own. She loves it and it gives our friends and family a way to encourage her and see what is going on in her life.
TeriLynne´s last blog post…Menu Plan Monday
we have books everywhere – in all rooms, in the cars, in my handbag. My daughter sees me reading and copies. I always have a notebook just for her and a story book of hers in my bag, so if we are waiting anywhere or out for coffee we can read. She sees reading is from books, magazines, newspapers, the internet. Speaking of the net, when she asks a question we go to Google and find the answer, so we both learn together, and we use the notebook in my handbag to note the questions we have when we are out. we also read signs and look for particular words each day (eg bakery, bank, police).
Ali´s last blog post…http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/5598207” rel=”nofollow”>"No repeat" – bridge crossing campaigner (Newstalk ZB)
Luckily, both of my girls love reading
I read to them before bed and now that my older daughter is on the verge of reading on her own, I let her read and explore through books as she lays in bed, before falling asleep. I can see that she is realling “getting” it…sounding out words and exploring the pages on her own 
Our baby girl is still quite young, but we started reading to her right after she was born. She was in the NICU for 10 weeks and 5 days. While she was there I had fun reading Charlotte’s Web to her while we cuddled.
My daughter is only one, so we just read to her at bedtime and have some books sitting in the family room. She goes to story time at the library every week, too.
I loved reading what everyone said! My oldest and youngest LOVE to read (8 and 4) and my middle daughter just doesn’t love it. I think the key for her is finding something she’s really interested in – but so far none of the books we’ve bought her are enough. So we keep trying
And we show them how much and often we read which I think helps too!
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