Some final thoughts

Children count on adults to be there to mediate their disputes, to listen to them talk about their work, and to encourage and extend their thinking. Young children benefit most from small group or individual interactions. As a tutor, you are an invaluable resource for meeting the individual needs of children. While observing dramatic play, for example, you might notice that children are continually building fire stations with blocks. This observation could lead to a trip to a fire station. You might go to the library and take out books on firefighters and read them to this group of children. Or you might notice that the children are working hard to create a hose for their fire truck. You can help them to choose what material can be used to create it.

Children like to be asked about their paintings, drawings, and collages. A simple, "Tell me about your painting," can elicit a detailed story about going bike riding and falling down. A representation of friends playing on a jungle gym may not be obvious to you, but it is to the child who drew it. To refine and develop language, children need to be given opportunities to express themselves in many different settings.

Whether you collect materials and work with children to make collages, plan a cooking activity and prepare a recipe with pictures and words, or play clapping games with a small group, every activity contributes to language development and literacy learning for young children. It may not always look like the kind of literacy work that you are most familiar with, but it is the foundation on which later work is built. Remember that reading is a social activity and is a language-based skill. Enjoy the language of preschoolers and their social activity. It's an engaging world.