Birth to 3 Months: First Rungs of Sound

• Imitates tones and rhythms of adult speech, laying the foundation for language.
• Responds to your voice with smiles or babbles, climbing toward connection.
• Swipes at books, beginning the ascent to object exploration.

3 to 6 Months: Grasping the Ladder

• Reaches for books and swipes at pages, eager to hold the tools of literacy.
• Vocalizes or pats pictures during storytime, stepping up to engagement.
• Begins to associate sounds with meaning, building early communication rungs.

6 to 12 Months: Steadying the Climb

• Grabs and mouths durable books, tasting the joy of literature.
• Understands 50+ words, linking sounds to the world around them.
• Turns pages with help, scaling the ladder of book-handling skills.

12 to 18 Months: Pointing the Way Up

• Points to named objects in books, stepping confidently into recognition.
• Pretends to read or carries books, embracing their role on the literacy ladder.
• Recognizes upside-down books, mastering a key rung of reading readiness.

18 to 24 Months: Climbing with Confidence

• Turns board-book pages solo, advancing their grip on literature.
• Names familiar pictures and finishes sentences in favorite stories, voicing their climb.
• Recites tales to toys, stepping into storytelling as a literacy leader.

24 to 36 Months: Reaching New Heights

• Answers questions about book characters, scaling comprehension rungs.
• Scribbles purposefully, marking the ladder with early writing attempts.
• Recognizes their name’s first letter, planting a personal flag on the literacy summit.

Referenced Resources!

Reading Rockets. Literacy Milestones: Birth to Age 3. Retrieved from https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/developmental-milestones/articles/literacy-milestones-birth-age-3

KidsHealth. Learning to Read: Milestones. Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/milestones.html

HealthyChildren.org. Developmental Milestones of Early Literacy. Retrieved from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Developmental-Milestones-of-Early-Literacy.aspx