Offer short, simple stories with colorful illustrations—board books are perfect. Babies may begin to explore books by looking, touching, opening-closing, and mouthing the books. 9–18 Months:

Offer board books with simple stories. Stories with rhymes and phrases that will repeat and catch your toddler’s attention. Children at this age love stories with pictures of other babies and familiar objects, such as animals, trees, flowers, and insects. Starting at about 12 months old, you can ask simple questions about the pictures such as “Where is the moon?” and watch to see if your baby points or make gestures. 18–24 Months: Introduce longer stories, perhaps with paper pages, with more complex plots. Humor is a big selling point at this age, as are silly rhymes. Your toddler might also be able to label objects with simple sounds or words, for example, exclaiming“Moo!”  24–36 Months:   Your child may be ready for books with regular pages and those that have an engaging plot (extra points for humor, rhymes, and great illustrations)—nonfiction stories—such as a book about construction vehicles, stories about animals, life cycles, nature, or seasons.

Neurological Benefits

A child can learn at an astronomical rate in the first six years of life. Why?  A baby has two billion brain cells or (neurons) at birth. When given the right learning experiences, these brain cells start sprouting two billion different (dendrites) or branches and synapses.  These synapses are found between two connecting nerve cells and respond like neurotransmitters impulses to the brain. The stored information of experiences come from the branches of the brain cells.

You are probably wondering what information is being sent to my child's brain? It consists of learning experiences of life. Sharing a book, singing a song, talking to each other, even speaking in another language. These benefits can lead to the development of self-esteem, positive emotional bonding, and an increased vocabulary.

Educational Benefits

 Reading builds improved attention spans and better concentration skills. Literacy opens opportunities for academic success. This allows your child to pick up the necessary knowledge and information by mastering effective literacy strategies. Exposing your child to reading will help them better comprehend what they are learning and recognize a more significant number of words through their senses.

Psychological Benefits

Self-confidence and independence become rooted in your child when they learn to read. It promotes maturity, increased discipline, and lays the basis for moral literacy. Satisfy their curiosity with explanations of how things work while exposing them to problem-solving techniques. Your child’s creativity and imagination will bloom as they learn about people, places, and ideas.

Social Benefits

Even at a young age, children have social awareness. They know who is more popular. They can tell who can do what. If a few children in kindergarten know how to read, they may receive awards and certificates, be called upon to choose books, or be encouraged to write, illustrate, and read their own stories aloud.

 Some schools may even be asked to help other children, who may still struggle with basic letter recognition. Early readers have the opportunity to relate to their peers on a more confident level. These experiences will increase the child's social status among peers and self-image and self-confidence.

Linguistic Benefits

Children who can read independently have more opportunities for writing at an earlier age. The sooner children learn how to read, the more books, knowledge, and ideas they will be exposed to. The result? Improved linguistic skills in a richer vocabulary, correct grammar, improved writing, better spelling, and more articulate oral communication.

The Absorbent Mind: The Sensitive Years Birth-6 Years

Maria Montessori was an Italian physician, author, educator, and lecturer.   She studied scientific pedagogy, the act of teaching in the psychological development of children with special needs. Maria Montessori wrote many books on the development of children.

 In The Absorbent Mind, she mentions the first phase of development is from birth to three years.  It is here the child unconsciously acquires basic abilities or survival skills. The skills are acquired by taking in everything around their environment.  Meaning the child uses all five senses, such as (sight, smell, hear, taste, and touch) the child responds to the act of living. 

Ideas for A Print Enriched Room for Young Children

Setting Up The Reading Corner

This is where children take on a passion, focus, and concentration with tasks or activities until that task is reached with a sense of accomplishment. Children's environment should be age-appropriate with child-size furniture, such as chairs, bean bag chairs, and desks.

  Pillows,  fuzzy blankets, rugs, and books of various genres to suit the child's interest. Their environment should display a sense of order, an invitation for their curious minds, meaning toys, stuffed animals, and books in bins, shelves, and baskets.

Materials

• Baskets
• Books ( animals, storytelling, Mother Goose Rhymes, Sing A-long, Continents, three-part matching cards animals, people, places.
• rugs, blankets, pillows,
• stuffed animals, dolls
• desk, chair, bean bag chairs
• blocks, puzzles, flashcards, crayons, and paper

Summary 

 As a Montessori Teacher, I can not stress enough the importance of a print enriched environment for your child's development. Follow these suggestions in your home, and your child will be successful in school and life. Remember, bonding with your little one is a number one priority; reading books, singing songs, rhyming poems, and playing with your child will enhance all the early literacy development required in neurological, education, psychological, social, and linguistic development. 

List of A Few Decorative Ideas For A Toddlers Room:

Montessori Notebook-Implement Montessori At Home In a Practical Fun, And Beautiful Way.

https://www.montessorinotebook.com

Create A Reading Space

https://www.maisondepax.com/reading-play-room

Resources

Early literacy Teach Reading Early

https://www.zerotothree.org/espanol/early-literacy

Early Beginnings: Early Literacy Knowledge and Instructions

https://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/product/347

Montessor, Maria (1949)

Benefits of Early Literacy Skills/Martin Pitts

https://mppfc.org/benefits-of-early-literacy-skills