2.5y–4.2y10 minReadingFamily timeQuiet time
Stories & Symbols: Any-Language Print Play
A low-pressure activity that works whether or not your family uses written text: tell a picture-based story, notice symbols in the environment, and connect meaningful words (names/labels) to sounds and everyday items.
What you'll need
Essentials
- a picture book, magazine, or family photos (phone photos are fine)
- 1–2 everyday packets/labels with print (e.g., toothpaste, cereal box)
- paper or card
- a marker or pen
Nice to have
- sticky notes or tape
- a favourite small toy for storytelling
Movement level: false
What you'll do
The 4-step guide, with what to look for at each step, is for signed-in parents.
What this develops
What it practices
- Enjoys rhyming and rhythmic activities.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Shows awareness of rhyme and alliteration.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Continues a rhyming string.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Hears and says the initial sound in words.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Can segment the sounds in simple words and blend them together and knows which letters represent some of them.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Remember not all languages have written forms and not all families are literate either in English, or in a different home language.”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)