Environmental Print Book: Preschoolers can read!

Ever notice how your child can spot their favorite snack on the shelf from a mile away? That’s environmental print at work! Those everyday signs and labels are the first steps in their reading journey. Now, imagine weaving those little moments into something bigger—like the Reading Rope. This Reading Rope is all about the skills needed to becoming a successful, fluent reader. By using these everyday words, we’re helping kids begin to develop letters and sound awareness.

6 Ideas for using Environmental Print to begin developing your child’s reading skills:

Did you know that the signs, labels, and logos your child sees every day are more than just background noise? They’re actually helping your child with beginning reading skills. This “Environmental Print” is all around us, from street signs and candy wrappers to the labels on food. It’s a fantastic way to connect letters to their sounds and meanings, especially for kids who are just starting to read.

The Research: A study (Christie, et al, 2002; Prior and Gerard, 2004) found that adult interaction with children was key to the transfer to conventional reading. The researchers report that the adult must draw attention to the letters and sounds in environmental-print words in order for children to recognize environmental print as words rather than pictures.

Let’s dive into how you can make the most of it:

1. Sounds and Letters: The Basics

Sounding It Out: Ever noticed your child pointing out the word “STOP” on a stop sign? They’re practicing phonemic awareness—recognizing the sounds in words like /s/ /t/ /o/ /p/. This is a crucial first step in learning to read.
Connecting Letters and Sounds: Kids start to see how letters come together to make words, thanks to familiar signs and logos. Whether it’s the “STOP” sign at the crosswalk or their favorite cereal box, these everyday items help reinforce how letters and sounds work together. I grew up reading my cereal box at breakfast, how about you?

2. Recognizing Words: Practice Makes Progress

Those everyday words you see—like “EXIT” on a building or the name of their favorite snack—give kids plenty of practice with word recognition. The more they see these words, the more familiar they are with recognizing that letters and sounds make words.

3. Understanding What Words Mean

Seeing words in context—like “EXIT” over a door or “STOP” at a crosswalk—helps kids understand that words have real meanings and purposes. This understanding is key to developing good reading comprehension. This also helps them make sense of the world around them. Whether you live in the city or somewhere rural, there are important signs all around you.

5. Realizing Words Are Everywhere

Environmental Print shows kids that words aren’t just in books; they’re all around us! From road signs, to stores and restaurants, to labels and logos, understanding that print has a purpose is a huge step in literacy.

6. Fun Ways to Use Environmental Print at Home

Cereal Box Exploration: Cereal boxes are colorful and packed with print! Ask your child to find the first letter of their name on the box. See if they can spot other letters from their name too. See our family NAME photo book. See above! Collect all the boxes and just cut off the front.
Road Trip Signs: During a car ride, pick a simple sign to focus on—like a stop sign, exit sign or a popular fast food restaurant. Have your child count how many they see and read the sign each time. Discuss the sounds of the letters, such as “S” makes the /ssss/ sound.
Create an “Our Signs” Book: Snap pictures of different signs like local stores, road signs, schools, parks, and speed limits. Turn these photos into a mini book for your child to “read.” Just use a small photo album.
Cut and Sort Words: Cut out familiar words from cereal boxes, soup cans, and yogurt containers. Use these words to discuss capital and lowercase letters and their sounds. You can even sort them into categories like foods and drinks, or create an alphabet book with all your cutouts! We love making a poster. Tip: Just save labels in an envelope before you recycle the items. Then create together!

Extra Fun with Environmental Print:

Play: I SPY

“I spy with my little eye a /s/ /t/ /o/ /p/ sign. What is it?”

How many sounds? FOUR

Phoneme substitution: I see a STOP sign, can you change the /ST/ to a /H/? What did you get? HOP! How about the /H/ to a /B/? You got BOP!

Play: I’m Thinking of a Word

I’m Thinking of a Word with Three Syllables.

Is it grass? No! That’s just one syllable!

Is it McDonalds? Yes! It has three syllables Mc-Don-alds. Good job!

Grocery Store Hunt:

I’m looking for a cookie that starts with the letter O: Oreo

Can you find something with two syllables? Example answer: pasta, popcorn, apple, yogurt, turkey, chicken, butter

Environmental Print in a Nutshell:

Everyday signs, labels, and logos are like hidden reading helpers for your child. They bridge the gap between the natural exposure to words and the structured reading lessons they’ll encounter later. Plus, using environmental print in fun ways at home can make learning to read an exciting adventure!

These simple activities really work! They make learning fun and on-the-go. Your kids can pick-up amazing amounts of reading skills just from the world around them. This is real learning! Sometimes kids just need a small confidence boost and assurance that you think they can do this work too!