Long before a child sounds out their first word, the seeds of reading are already being planted in songs, rhymes, and sound games that have nothing to do with the alphabet. That's because our brains aren't naturally wired to read. Learning to read requires building a very specific skill called phonemic awareness, and it starts with something as simple as learning to listen.
The Sanford School Department recently took an exciting step to make sure more of our youngest learners get this strong start, no matter where they spend their Pre-K year. Staff from Kids Kove Learning Center visited Sanford Pride Elementary for a training session on phonemic awareness, part of a new partnership that brings consistent, research-based instruction to community Pre-K programs as well as our own school buildings.
As part of this partnership, the Sanford School Department provided Kids Kove and other local Pre-K facilities with the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Pre-Kindergarten Curriculum, along with hands-on training to go with it. Sanford First 10 Community Schools Coordinator Shana Palmer has been instrumental in connecting these programs with both the materials and the support they need to use them well.
So what exactly is phonemic awareness, and why does it matter? Before a child can read the word "cat," they need to be able to hear that "cat" rhymes with "hat," that it's made up of three separate sounds, and that swapping one sound out gives you a whole new word. None of that requires a book or a pencil; it happens out loud, almost like a game. These listening and sound skills are the foundation that makes learning to read so much easier later on.
K-4 Literacy Coach and Interventionist Christy Crowley led the Kids Kove staff through these skills step by step, starting with recognizing rhymes and building toward more advanced activities like breaking words apart and putting them back together. Staff even got to experience the lessons as students themselves, so they could understand exactly what children go through as they learn. Other community partnerships will be participating in these sessions in the future.
Children who arrive at kindergarten already comfortable playing with the sounds in words are far less likely to struggle with reading down the road. By working together with community programs like Kids Kove, the Sanford School Department is making sure that a strong foundation is in place for every child, regardless of where they spend their Pre-K year. More training with local Pre-K facilities are already being planned, because when our community works together, all of our children benefit.