By Jennifer at the Schweitzer Brentwood Branch Library.

Have you ever noticed that letters and familiar words are all around us? And not just at the library (but it’s a great place to start)! Environmental print is the print of everyday life like logos, signs and labels. It is a wonderful resource to help your emergent readers spot words they already know and bridge those connections to learning more about letters and reading. Identifying your own name in print is always rewarding for a young child, but that’s not the only word that comes quickly to emerging readers.

Take note of how many signs or labels your child can recognize while traveling across town, walking through your neighborhood, or on a trip to the store. If it’s something or somewhere they ask you about every day, there is a good chance they can tell you what it is just by looking at the sign or packaging. Road signs, snack boxes and bags from favorite places are a great place to start. You can use these items to identify letters and letter sounds with these already familiar words. 

• Stop Signs: That sign starts with “S” and tells us to “STOP”, Sssssssss…stop. What other words can you find that start with “S”.

• Billboard: I see an “A” on that sign. Aaa…aaa…A. Can you find another sign that has the letter “A”?

• Shopping bag: The store that sells your favorite snacks begins with “M”. Do you know what sound “M” makes?

• Alphabet soup: I see the letter “R” in my soup. Rrr...rrr…R. Rabbit starts with "R". Can you think of another word that begins with “R”? 

Once you identify some environmental print your child recognizes without assistance, you can even begin creating your own environmental print book for independent reading. If the print is on a small product you already own, it’s as simple as cutting out the word and taping or gluing it to a larger sheet of paper. For larger signs, you can always take a picture and print it for your book. You can put each page together in a scrapbook or photo album, or simply hole punch them and tie them together with yarn. As your child learns new words, you can add more images and pages to your book.

Questions or need more ideas? Email racingtoread@thelibrary.org