There are a number of early materials in a Casa that could provide some information around a child and their developing literacy. Many of the sensorial materials are sequential; if a child continuously has trouble with them, that could be a red flag.

Many of the Casa materials support a child in developing the memory of certain concepts and often this can be a challenge. Due to the manipulation of materials in this process, if a child cannot retain the information, that could be another red flag.

In the development of literacy, we offer a wide variety of experiences in oral language – from the enrichment of vocabulary, to story-telling, to conversations, to questions – children have many opportunities to practise their budding oral language skills.

The letters of the alphabet – or the symbols of the sounds of a language – are presented early, using techniques that support memory. This is followed by the work of creating – with these moveable symbols – words of their vocabulary. This work expands from single words to phrases to sentences. In this process a child usually spontaneously begins to ‘read’ the words they have created with moveable characters/letters. Words are followed by or are consecutively read; if a child does not spontaneously begin this, if we work with them and they still seem to be challenged, we may request an evaluation. However, there is not a magical age when children begin to read; each child follows their own interests and abilities when using the materials provided for literacy achievement. If a child has difficulty with any of the steps in achieving literacy this can be a red flag for the teacher and the parent – and a period when some additional help may be needed; for example, if, after lots of practice, the child cannot remember the sound of a letter or character, this could be diagnosed by the time a child is 3.5 to 4 years of age. The earlier these letters/characters are presented, using multiple senses, the earlier the child begins to form words, phrases and sentences.