This episode of Spark EC Voices explores what early literacy really means for young children—from birth through third grade—and how it develops through joyful, meaningful experiences. Featuring insights from literacy expert Dr. Tanya Flushman and preschool educator Skye Young, the conversation highlights the critical role of oral language, play-based learning, and intentional instruction in building strong foundations for reading. Listeners will hear how literacy comes to life in classrooms and at home, why multilingualism is an asset, and how educators can balance explicit skill-building with engaging, child-centered practices. This episode invites educators and families to view literacy as a dynamic, inclusive journey rooted in connection, culture, and curiosity.
Episode Contributors:
Skye Young
Skye Young from Cypress, California, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies from Hope International University in Fullerton. She went on to obtain her Special Education teaching credential from California State University, Dominguez Hills, where she also completed her induction program. In May, she will graduate with a Master’s degree in Special Education from Dominguez Hills—proudly cheering, “Go Toros!”
Currently, Skye teaches in Long Beach in a collaborative classroom setting that integrates both general education and special education students, reflecting her commitment to inclusive and supportive learning environments.
Tanya Flushman
As Co-Director of the CSU Center for the Advancement of Reading and Writing, Dr. Tanya Flushman collaborates with faculty across the CSU system to strengthen literacy instruction statewide. With expertise in early childhood language and literacy development, she helps future and current teachers translate research into meaningful classroom practice. A former elementary teacher in both California and Mexico, she brings a global perspective and a deep understanding of the teaching profession. Dr. Flushman has a PhD in Language, Literacy and Culture from Vanderbilt University.
Episode 5: Where Literacy Begins: Play, Language, and Multilingual Children
Hilary: [00:00:00] Hello everyone and welcome to the Spark EC Voices podcast, the place where knowledge meets action and early childhood education.
Lindsay: We're so glad you're here. This show is brought to you by the Spark EC Hub, and that's the California State University system-wide partnership for advancing research and knowledge in early childhood education.
Hilary: Well, welcome back to the podcast. I'm Hillary.
Lindsay: And I'm Lindsay. Today we're diving into where literacy begins for our youngest learners, celebrating the assets they bring and sparking the joy that leads to a lifetime of loving reading. The state of California has made bold moves towards literacy equity.
Hilary: The expectation is that all children will receive evidence-based language and literacy instruction that not only promotes foundational [00:01:00] skills and meaning making, but values the cultural and linguistic diversity of children and families served all the way from birth through third grade. Today, we're going to lean into what that looks like on the ground from both the research and in the classroom.
Lindsay: We are joined by two incredible educators to do just that. Dr. Tanya Fleshman, co-director of the CSU Center for the Advancement of Reading and Writing and literacy professor at Cal Poly San Luisa, bipo and Sky Young, a pre-K ed specialist from Long Beach Unified.
I'm so excited for this, especially when we think about, we have an ECSC, um, preschool teacher, um, in the house today, and we know that then that journey from literacy moves all the way from birth. Then you hit preschool for more formal instruction, explicit components, and then all the way up to third grade where we see, um, children really be being readers.
And so I hope today we can think about how does that explicit [00:02:00] literacy instruction take place alongside and intertwined with play-based learning? And I know that our guests are gonna get us there today.
Hilary: All right, before we dive in, let's start with a quick icebreaker.
So I am curious to hear what your favorite children's book is. , It might be one from your childhood, or it might be one that you love sharing with children today? And maybe think about why does this book even linger with you? We'll start with Sky.
Skye: Yeah. Um, first of all, I wanna say thank you for having me.
, I'm very excited about this topic, but the Very Hungry Caterpillar is definitely my favorite book to read year round in my classroom because it naturally supports many areas of. Early development in a way that is engaging, predictable, and accessible for young learners with diverse needs. , The book, simple, repetitive structure, makes it easy for children to follow along.
Many students in special education benefit from repetition and routine and the predictability [00:03:00] such as he was still hungry. It helps build their confidence and their comprehension. Um, there's so much enrichment that this book brings. I could go on and on about it.
Hilary: Great, thanks.
And how about you, Tanya?
Tanya: Thanks Hilary. I'm really excited to be here today as well. I echo sky sentiment, so even though I worked in early childhood and done research for years and read many, many amazing books aloud to my students, my favorite children's books are the ones that I've read to my own children, my own three children.
Reading aloud to them and seeing how they grew into talk, reading and writing was what prompted me to pursue my graduate degree. In language and literacy. And so I was fascinated with how they evolved into becoming like literate human beings and using language to navigate the world. So we spent countless hours together reading books, um, like Goodnight, moon, corduroy, the Gruffalo, Olivia, mama, and Me.
So those are, those are my [00:04:00] favorites and they're still on my bookshelf today, and I, I will never get rid of them.
Hilary: Uh, well, Tanya and Skye, I hear both of you. I used to read both The Hungry Caterpillar and many of the same books that you mentioned, Tanya. And I have a favorite children's book too. And it was one I used to read to both of my daughters, and it was called The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munch.
Lindsay, . What is your favorite children's book?
Lindsay: Well, I have a, a new favorite children's book like every week I think, because I love children's literature. But, um, right now I'm really in love with the flashlight. Um, that's done by Lizzie Boyd.
It is a wordless book and it's, it's got these little peaks into the next page, um, to keep curiosity flowing. It's about a child navigating the forest , . At the nighttime. And I just think there's something magical about the way the book leads into one animal from the next to the next to the next.
And there's a lot of foreshadowing. Um, it can really bring a [00:05:00] child's imagination to life and also like help us help children think about how maybe the dark is a place that can be nice. Right. , It's really, , special book. And again, that's, um, the Flashlight by Lizzie Boyd.
Hilary: I love that idea of a wordless children's book.
Even for older learners, um, older students. To have them come up with the text or different storylines. So I'm, I'm really glad you shared that book. It sounds like a good one. I'm gonna take a look at it. So, I'm excited about this topic and thinking about like, what is literacy and how we bring that joy, but also like thinking about the technical side, the research side, what it looks like in the classroom.
These are all kind of, I think, really great topics for us to explore today. Let's start with Tanya. When we say early literacy, what does that even really mean? Especially in, , the early years, which is birth through age eight. So what does early [00:06:00] literacy look like during that time period?
Tanya: So early , in emergent literacy represent the developmental journey children take as they discover that language and print serve a functional purpose.
Like in our world, in academia and in research, we typically characterize emergent literacy as birth to age five, and this emergent literacy refers to the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that children develop often before they start formal reading and writing instruction. So this stage is kind of characterized by understanding that communication is a tool.
For navigating their environment. And so it's built on these like fundamental understandings. And so one of those that's key is this idea of purpose. So children begin to speak, read, and write because it serves a specific purpose, such as expressing a need or like navigating like a social situation.
[00:07:00] Another foundational idea in emergent literacy is the role of play. So in this. Phase play acts as a vehicle for children to enter authentic, literate worlds through play. They can use language and print to explore, explain, and negotiate their lives. Um, another. Principle, um, that language is key, right?
Language is a base. Oral language, spoken language is the foundation for all subsequent learning. This is why research emphasizes that talk should be actively encouraged in PK two classrooms to build this base. We don't want any, you know, quiet classrooms are, um, you know, all early childhood classrooms should be classrooms with, with talk and, and, and.
They shouldn't necessarily be quiet. And then lastly, translanguaging. You know, when we think about mult, all of our multilingual settings, you know, emergent literacy includes translanguaging, where children are encouraged to take risks and use their full linguistic repertoire to communicate. [00:08:00] So then, , in academia and research, , we often kind of create this, um, this next phase we might call early literacy, which people often characterize as K two.
And this typically refers to this transition to more formal conventional reading and writing skills, often supported by, you know, rich curricula that encourages playful pedagogy right in early childhood. And so this is built on the integration of skills. So early literacy requires a balance between direct instruction and meaningful practice, where specific skills like phonics or decoding are taught through direct instruction.
Play provides the essential authentic scaffolds children need to practice those skills. Um, play again, should play a role , in early literacy environments. , And there's a spectrum of engagement going from, you know, all the way from free play that's completely child directed with no explicit learning, engage goals to guided play, which you know, is adult initiated or facilitated, but the child leaves the [00:09:00] activity.
And then, , lastly, this idea of authentic application, which circles back to purpose, right? Children are, using language for purposeful reasons. And so early literacy is most effective when it feels real to a child. For example, creating play centers or learning environments like a nursery garden or a beauty salon, you know, allowing children to practice literacy and math, you know, such as measuring lengths or reading about plant diseases in a context that that mirrors the real world.
Hilary: So I guess what I'm hearing you say is literacy is more inclusive than just the act of actually just reading a text, that it includes exploring the world language, translanguaging purposefulness. So where does learning to read fit in that?
Tanya: Yeah. . In terms of how, how people think about this concept of learning to read, right?
To help explain that like literacy is a lifelong journey, right? Beginning at birth, you [00:10:00] know, and it's helpful to frame it as a process of discovering that communication serves a functional purpose in our world. So instead of viewing reading as this light switch that flips on, research suggests that we should really view it as an evolving ability to navigate the world through language and print.
So direct instruction is. Essential for mastering the specific mechanics of literacy, like decoding. And we know that to be true. Um, play provides the meaningful context where those skills can be utilized, , creating a rich curriculum, um, where children, coupled with playful learning ensures that when a child finally learns to decode words, they already have the vocabulary, the oral language, the social understanding to be able to apply those skills meaningfully.
So yes, I think, this comprehensive understanding and,, around, , learning to read is really essential to like really support a well-rounded, curriculum and instruction.
Hilary: Thank you, Tanya. I wanna turn this over to my co-host, Lindsay, to ask the next question. [00:11:00]
Lindsay: Right Skye It sounds like we have a really good idea about what happens in reading from Tanya, but how does early literacy come to life in your classroom and at home now that you're a new mom?
Skye: Early literacy in a special education preschool classroom and at home for a new mom comes to life through everyday moments, meaningful interactions and simple, consistent routines. It's less about formal teaching and more about building language connection and their confidence. Um, interactive read alouds are great.
Teachers don't just read, they pause, so we ask questions, use gestures, and let the children touch. Book or act out parts of the story. So books like the Very Hungry Caterpillar, , become very hands-on experiences because there's visual supports and predictability. So picture schedules, story sequence cards, and labeled classroom items help the children connect words to meaning.
So repetition builds their confidence and understanding. And kind of piggybacking [00:12:00] off of Tanya play-based learning, and communication for all. Routine exposure play-based learning is super important for, early education and at home. Early literacy grows through bonding, talking and simple daily habits.
I mean, talking to my baby all day and narrating what we're doing, um, can help her build her vocabulary before she can even talk. , We read. Multiple books a day, even if it's brief and she wants to move around or move on. , She likes to just look at the picture sometimes just smack the pages, fill the book.
Um, we have sound books that she really likes, and the popup books seem to be her favorite 'cause she likes to rip 'em all apart.
Lindsay: That absolutely sounds like something that every parent should hear, right? Is that just talking to your child is a literacy, , boost as well as having those books available.
What do you notice in your classroom that shows literacy is already developing before children are formally reading?
Skye: In my classroom, literacy is already very much alive, even before they can read the books [00:13:00] or read the words on a page. It shows up in small, meaningful ways through play, communication and interaction.
They may not be able to read yet, but they are communicating, which is the foundation of literacy. So you might see a child using gestures, signs. Um, we have a, a c devices in my class that help express their needs pointing to pictures or symbols. Interest in books and storytelling. So holding the, book, even if it's upside down at first.
Looking at the pictures, labeling familiar objects, repeating phrases from favorite stories such as, no David. Like they get that consistency. And then even early writing behavior such as scribbling with crayons or markers, making marks that represent ideas like this says my name, even if it's just a scribble.
Lindsay: That's great. Thanks for giving us a lens into what that can look like all the way from pre-reading to then jumping into that literacy component on a more formal level. Tanya, what's one way that you can think about that explicit [00:14:00] phonemic. Or phonics through the lens of play, how can that show up in a joyful way?
Tanya: To engage in early literacy in a joyful way. I think that you really need to focus in early childhood on a rich, comprehensive curriculum that's interlaced with strategic and purpose of opportunities for play. You know, research supports that play and learning are not mutually exclusive, rather children can inherently learn through play.
So I think, you know, in terms of like the big ideas, that you can build on as a classroom teacher, um, you know, to center play as a primary vehicle. So play should be a daily fundamental part of the early childhood curriculum rather than an afterthought. You know, it provides these opportunities for children to engage.
Um. It with literacy for real practical purposes. Um, I also think teachers can consider and should consider that play is a spectrum, right? I alluded to this earlier, but there are, um, play and playful engagement in early childhood classroom exists on a spectrum that balances child [00:15:00] agency with teacher guidance, right?
And we can think of the many ways in which we can engage on that spectrum in our classroom, and we should engage on that spectrum in our classroom. And then lastly, um, I think that it's a misconception that you need to choose between play and direct instruction. While direct instruction is essential for teaching specific literacy skills, play can provide a meaningful context for children to practice those skills and to reinforce those skills.
, And teachers play a really important role in. Scaffolding, you know, those opportunities in a real deliberate and strategic way. Um, so I think that, you know, joyful literacy isn't, isn't just about fun. It's about creating a playful pedagogy where children can see that language in print are powerful tools for navigating their world.
Lindsay: Thanks, Tanya. I'll hand it back over to Hillary.
Hilary: All right. Skye, how do you see oral language vocabulary and storytelling and then all these other [00:16:00] skills that, as Tanya mentioned, you can't just leave up to chance that they're gonna grab or find somewhere.
How do we have that intentionality? And that balances. Play with the instruction. So what do those things look like in your classroom? How does that show up?
Skye: Yeah. Um, in my classroom, oral language vocabulary and storytelling are happening all day in playful, natural ways rather than formal lessons, kind of like Tanya was talking about, so you could see them come to life and how the children are talking, interacting, and making meaning of their world.
So oral language is the foundation of early literacy, and it shows up constantly through their conversation. So back and forth interaction. I'm making soup or another child saying, can I have some, um, turn taking in conversation so the teachers can help model listening and responding. And then the children learn the rhythm of communication, um, expanding language, songs and rhymes.
Preschoolers are rapidly learning new words. So [00:17:00] especially when adults intentionally support that, it really helps. So in other ways, like the thematic play in a dramatic play area, like a kitchen or a doctor's office, children use, and learn specific words like recipe, temperature or appointment. So each theme we have in our classroom lasts a month.
So what we like to do is change our dramatic play area to match that theme. So right now we're doing gardening. We have. A garden and a farmer's market going on in our dramatic play so they can learn all those words. Um, read alouds. Uh, introducing the rich vocabulary through books. Describing language, repetition and exposure
storytelling helps children organize their thoughts and build narrative skills. So pretend play. The children can create their own stories while playing. The baby is sick. We need to get a doctor. Um, retelling stories. Uh, after reading a book, they might act it out or describe what happened in their own words and personal narratives.
They share experiences like I went to the park with [00:18:00] my mom.
Lindsay: And Skye, that's the most fun part, right? When they have all that child agency and they're out there and they're, and they're doing what makes sense for them. What about when you need to really dig into a couple of skills deeper, right?
Like teaching explicit, phoning awareness or phonics. What does that look like in your classroom?
Skye: Um, so it's about weaving them together. Children experience literacy as both joyful and purposeful. Um, so embedded skills into meaningful play instead of pulling children aside for drills and paperwork and stuff like that, bring sounds and letters into what they're already doing.
So in the dramatic play, you might say you're making pizza, P pizza. What else starts with P in block play labeling structures with simple words or initial sounds. The children can. Practice phonemic awareness naturally while staying engaged in their play, um, and keeping phonics light so playful and hands-on.
Phonics and preschool should be about [00:19:00] exposure, not mastery. So magnetic letter sensory writing, sand shaving cream letter hunts, matching games, um, letters to pictures, the goal of familiarity and curiosity, not correctness.
Hilary: All right,
Lindsay: thanks Sky.
Hilary: Yeah, thanks. , I can just picture all of those examples of, of seeing children do that work and, and it also helps us understand the value of those playful experiences that they're actually, they're learning all of these pre-reading skills.
So those are really necessary. And if we don't have that piece before they get to their reading instruction,, there's. Potentially gaps or there's some of these things don't come in the, you know, as easily for children that way. So, Tanya, we know in California that many of young children come to school speaking a language other than English.
How does early literacy development look similar or different for multilingual [00:20:00] children?
Tanya: So I've had the good fortune to co-lead, um, the CSU early Childhood Multilingual Literacy Teacher Preparation Faculty Fellowship, where it includes 10 dedicated faculty from across the CSU who are collaborating to strengthen teacher preparation programs with a special focus on this exact issue supporting, um.
Uh, multilingual learners in early childhood settings. And so in this fellowship, you know, the faculty are engaging deeply in this study and application of high leverage practice. This idea of high leverage practice that helps future teachers effectively foster early literacy and language development for young, multilingual children.
And so, , some of the things that. They are finding as they go about doing their work is, they're trying to create a type of framework for high leverage practice , for students. And, as of now they kind of have, um, three main,, principles that they're kind of working from in terms of fostering , this growth in multilingual children in the first has to do with.
Um, really focusing on [00:21:00] practices that center the identities and lived experiences of their students. So this practice shifts the classroom from a generic space to one that mirrors the students' actual worlds, val, validating their cultures as like real academic assets. A second. Practice, um, that they are focusing on is practice that encourages critical teacher self-reflection.
So the, the self-reflection of the teachers of the students. So effective teaching for multilingual learners requires educators to examine their own biases and the power dynamics inherent in language instruction. And so, you know, really doing things like unpacking implicit bias, understanding positionality and power, and really engaging in ongoing inquiry themselves.
And, and asking questions like, whose voice was the loudest in the classroom today? Whose language was sidelined, whose language was. Fronted that type of thing. And then the last practice that they have been really working with is this idea about eliciting student thinking [00:22:00] through expanding our notions of literacy.
You know, that also encourages metacognition. So this practice broadens the definition of literacy beyond just reading and writing in English, allowing children to show what they know through various modes. Right? So, you know, encouraging multimodal literacy, encouraging metacognitive scaffolding, um, making visible thinking routines, making those visible.
And through all of this, right, is this idea of translanguaging, right? Encouraging children to use their full linguistic repertoire,, when they're in the classroom, is also key and essential.
Hilary: Thanks Tanya. I really like that idea of high leverage practices. What are some of the misconceptions that educators might have about having, uh, multilingual children in their classroom?
You know, children that maybe aren't even speaking English when they enter their classroom for the first day. What are some of the misconceptions that you're seeing, and then what would be something that maybe [00:23:00] you've learned from your fellows that could help , educators with that?
Uh.
Tanya: Yeah, so I think I can answer both of those together. So there are some misconceptions, that many people have around working with young multilingual learners. I think the first is that this idea of code switching, or using multiple languages is confusing for children. Actually, the reality is that this translanguaging is a sign of linguistic competence, not confusion.
It shows the child strategically using their entire vocabulary to communicate complex thoughts and ideas. , Obviously in the classroom encouraging that thinking of that practice as a bridge rather than a barrier. You know, in, in the classroom I think is key. Another misconception is this belief that parents must speak English at home with their children.
Um, you know, the reality is that children need a strong cognitive foundation, which is best built through high quality interactions. In the parents' most fluent language. [00:24:00] So, , encouraging parents, , to talk with their students , in rich ways, at home, um, you know, literacy skills, like understanding how a story works or how to sequence events or how to tell a plot of a, story, you know, those.
Skills transfer across languages. So if you're learning it in Spanish or a different language, you know the concept when you encounter it in English. And then lastly, another misconception is that children should be taught English before they can learn other subjects like science or social. Studies or, , others.
And reality delaying that academic content until a child is fluent in English creates a real knowledge gap that's really difficult to close later. And, you know, children are capable of learning high level concepts in lots of ways through visuals, hands-on activities, peer collaboration while they're still acquiring English.
So we need to teach language through content rather than language before content. So those are kind of [00:25:00] three big, I think, ideas that, sometimes pop up and you know, the ways in which we can mitigate them.
Hilary: Right. Well, thanks Tanya. I think this is such a big topic here in California right now that I almost feel like maybe we'll have to go deeper on this conversation in a future episode.
Lindsay: Skye. Listening to Tanya, think about, you know, the work of , the faculty fellowship and the, , just thinking about multilingual learners , as really dynamic, children with linguistic repertoires. What does it look like to make joyful literacy? Inclusive for all languages and cultures within your own classroom.
Skye: Uh, making literacy joyful and inclusive for all languages in a preschool classroom means creating a space where every child's language, culture, and way of communicating is valued, visible, and celebrated. It's not just about teaching letters and sounds, it's about helping the children feel that their voices and stories matter.
So by using a language rich and [00:26:00] welcoming environment, meaningful story times and valuing all forms of communication and by play, music and movement,
Hilary: yeah, I'm just, I'm thinking about what that looks like for preschool children. And I feel like some of those ideas. We need to think about how we continue in K two or K three or even up to sixth grades.
You know, what, how do we keep that joyful piece and those authentic experiences? How do we keep those going across our elementary grades? So I think that's another topic too that I'm gonna keep, um, thinking about.
Lindsay: Yeah. I love this. You guys have given us a lot to think about on here. About what, what can we roll up, right?
So that's exciting.
Hilary: All right, so Skye, I liked hearing about your classroom a little bit and some of the things you're doing, but what are some simple high impact strategies that teachers can start using right away to support joyful literacy in their classrooms?
Skye: [00:27:00] Uh, the most effective strategies are usually the simplest ones because they're consistent, predictable, and easy for young children to understand, such as visual support, embedded language into everything.
Uh, creating predictable routines following their lead in play. Instant reinforcement, uh, offer choices. Often we like to call it forced choice. So you give them two options of what you want them to do. So, for example, do you want the chair or do you want the carpet? This gives them the feeling of control, but you also get the result that you want.
And also never asking a yes, no question, because once they say no, you kind of have to follow through with that because that's their request. , , there's also so many things to focus on early in the school year that set the standard for the rest of the year.
Hilary: All right. Thanks.
Lindsay: So Tanya, we've been talking a lot about what things look like in classrooms, what it looks like in the research.
Now let's think about those interactions. What does effective [00:28:00] adult child interactions sound like and look like during play?
Tanya: Absolutely. Great question. And , to echo much of what Skye has said about her own classroom, um, talk in oral language development is so important in, you know, early childhood, which we've already established and play really encourages risk taking with language, especially in multilingual settings where we wanna encourage practices like Translanguaging, which we've mentioned.
So. One of the things that I like, love to see in classrooms is I call them from earlier research that I did in preschool classrooms in Nashville, um, in Head Start classrooms, looking at the ways in which teachers and children interacted in conversation. And so I called them constructive conversations.
So these are these conversations where play creates inherent opportunities. For them to be able to meet children where they are in their zone of proximal development. You know, and since language is the foundation of all learning, we [00:29:00] really wanna encourage, you know, these types of conversations in the classroom.
So in terms of what it looks like, it really looks like less teacher talk and more child talk, right? We want to, uh, encourage teachers to both elicit and interpret what children are saying, right? So basing their next move and their next, , question or their next prompt or their next. Um, use of language on what the child needs in the moment.
Encouraging children's questions. There's a lot of research that looks at, how many questions are children actually asking in the classroom, if any at all. And they aren't asking a lot. That's kind of the, the nutshell. And so how can we encourage children to ask questions and to be curious cognitively extending children's speech.
So,, taking their utterance. And then bringing it just a little step further, , to help enrich their vocabulary and their receptive,, oral language narrating, which Skye already mentioned, what's happening, what they're doing, what's going on in the center or [00:30:00] as they're playing.
Um, encouraging translanguaging pointing out print in the environment. At a center and, and it's a diner, and they have a restaurant and there's a waitress and she's taking your order and she has a menu and you tell her you want scrambled eggs and you encourage her as she's trying to write scrambled eggs to, oh, I see on the menu here, it, it, it says eggs.
This is where it says eggs. Right? And so, oh, maybe we could use this to write. To help write my order. So encouraging them to notice print in their environment and to use it flexibly and authentically, and just really encouraging them to explore and experiment to use language in new ways.
Hilary: As we wrap up today's conversation, I'm really struck by how both Tanya and Skye helped us, um, really think about what we mean by early literacy, how it's not just learning to read the words, the sounds, the letters, but it's really about how [00:31:00] children make meaning from the very beginning through language play, vocabulary, connections, ideas, all of those things.
Lindsay: I heard from Tanya that literacy is a lifelong journey. It starts at birth rooted in oral language shaped by purposeful interactions and strengthened through both explicit instruction and meaningful playful experiences. And Sky brought that to life for us, reminding us that literacy is already happening in classrooms and homes every day.
In the conversations, the pretend play. The scribbles, the storytelling, and even in those simple routines like talking, reading, and singing together.
Hilary: Yeah. What really stands out to me is the joy and the rigor in schools of teaching. Through explicit instruction and explicit content, they're not opposites.
When we really intentionally weave [00:32:00] together, play language, skill building the foundations of reading, children aren't just learning how to read. They're learning why reading matters. They're building confidence in themselves. They're learning about their own identity and a sense that their voices, their languages, their ideas, they belong.
Lindsay: So as you head back into your own classrooms, your programs, your homes, we invite you to think about where are the opportunities to spark more talk to honor children's languages and experiences to make literacy feel real, purposeful and joyful, and read one of those great book suggestions we heard all about in the beginning.
Because we've heard here today, those small, meaningful moments are what lay the foundation for lifelong readers.
Hilary: So I wanna thank both Tanya and Skye for sharing your insights and your experiences with [00:33:00] us.
Lindsay: And thank you to our listeners for joining us on Spark EC Voices, keep sparking joy in literacy through play, language, and connection.
If you found this episode helpful, please share it with your colleagues.
Hilary: If you'd like to learn more, be sure to check out our video, Preparing PK-3 Educators for Tomorrow, and our PK-3 ECE Playbook. Both are available on our website Join the movement to transform early learning through collaboration and innovation, because every great idea begins with a spark.