Nursery World - Positive Relationships: Working with parents

Literacy takes many forms in children's lives and we should reflect before we dismiss what they enjoy at home in favour of what we offer in the nursery, argues Helen Bromley.

Recently I was watching 'rhyme time' in a nursery that I visit regularly. The teacher pulled a star from a bag and started to sing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' with the group. A little girl called out, with the kind of excitement that only comes from recognition of the familiar, 'My Mummy's got that on her iPod.'

In the same nursery, the teacher has given out scrapbooks to the parents, before the children join, so that they can complete the first few pages with information about their child that they feel is important to share. I was privileged to be allowed to look through them and glimpse what it means to be young and literate in the 21st century. They included contributions such as these:

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included