Early Literacy & School Readiness

School readiness is a continuum that begins at birth. The Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR) states: “School readiness is the state of early development that enables an individual child to engage in and benefit from primary learning. As a result of family nurturing and interactions with others, a young child in this stage has reached certain levels of social and emotional development, cognition and general knowledge, language development, and physical well-being and motor development.” Early literacy is one important part of this early development.

Early literacy refers to the knowledge and skills that precede learning to read and write in the primary grades. This is a process by which infants and toddlers form reading and writing concepts and skills, learning the relationship between the two.

These are not new concepts for Family Support and Early Head Start Centers, as evidenced by the family literacy and Reading is Fundamental (RIF) activities that have been an integral part of Center programming over the years.   For specific guidelines and expectations for Family Support and Early Head Start Centers, please consult Friends of the Family’s Maryland Family Support Center Manual, revised February 2004.

Please consult the following resources as you work to enhance your early literacy and school readiness activities with parents and children: