Early Words Matter
What does ‘Early Words Matter’ mean to Cosy?
According to a recent National Literacy Trust report, last year over 185,000 children started school at age five without the language, communication, and literacy skills they needed to succeed.
Cosy recognises the detrimental impact this will have on these children. Without a strong foundation, children face fundamental challenges in learning, confidence, and wellbeing as they start school. This can also make it harder for them to succeed in their GCSEs and find stable employment later in life. Children’s development at 22 months is a predictor of qualifications at 26 years, and the ability to catch-up decreases every day.
We know that under fives have spent more of their lives living in lockdown conditions following Covid than any other generation. Children have had fewer chances to socialise with friends, fewer opportunities to play, and fewer opportunities to hear new words. At the same time, screen time has increased and from younger ages. If you combine this with the knowledge that the first 1000 days of a child’s life are essential to development, we can see that we face a huge challenge.
Children therefore are facing an uphill battle – social communication can be delayed which can present as struggling to follow instructions and understanding non-literal language. As they have not been exposed to it, talking, storytelling, taking turns and staying on topic can be hard. Expressing emotions in a clear way can be difficult.
This isn’t a challenge that Cosy are going to shy away from. Cosy offer a range of versatile resources that support children to socialise, talk, be resilient and be physical. We are proud to work with the National Literacy Trust, sponsoring their Early Words Matter conference in March 2025 to help make the change that we know needs to happen to create successful and inspiring individuals. You can sign up to the Early Words Matter conference here Early Words Matter conference: Their story starts with you | National Literacy Trust
At Cosy we know that teachers want to be champions of early communication, helping children engage with their family and peers. In order to do this, they need exciting ideas and affordable resources that will encourage their children to talk. The problem is often not knowing what resources can help, or where to find them.
We believe that learning spaces and resources should delight and inspire children and educators. Cosy understands the challenge of finding inspiring solutions that tick all the boxes which is why, as an award-winning company, we have come up with over 30,000 product ideas in our 14 years.
The Best Resources to Support Children's Communication
First, we need to find imaginative resources that will excite young minds! That’s where Cosy come in.
We have a variety of resources that will aid early communication.
Spaces for children, Active Storytelling, Crates, Tuff Spots and our Literacy Spoons are great resources that will encourage your children to talk.
Spaces for children
This set of four grass stages can be used outside or indoors for a welcoming space to any area. Create different combinations with the individual stages. The perfect platforms for your children to create plays and shows for their peers and educators, as a result, improving their oral language skills.
A complete contained performance space, with chalkboard backdrops that enable and encourage children to create scenes, write planning notes or sequence their performance. As a result, improving their oral language and handwriting skills.
Active Storytelling
This charming wooden boat invites young readers to explore literary adventures outdoors. With a gable-style roof, built-in benches and side shelves, it encourages reading, role play and group discussions. Durable and versatile, it’s an enchanting addition to any educational environment.
Tete A Tete Reading Train Carriage
The Tete A Tete Reading Train Carriage is an outdoor communication space designed to foster language skills and imaginative play. With wooden train carriages, students can explore storytelling, collaborative play, and role-playing as drivers. The carriages feature storage for books and props, encouraging creativity and learning. Ideal for boosting problem-solving and social interactions in a fun, engaging environment.
Crate Displays
Using crates to create your displays is a great way to encourage your children to talk. Creating crate displays with our Creative Crates Set allows children to easily access the learning prompts on your display. Adding books, loose parts, and other literacy resources to your crate displays will encourage your children to discuss and communicate with their peers about the resources they reach for.
Linking books to play can be a fantastic way to open up the play, inspiring rich opportunities for talk and understanding.
An effective way of linking books to play is through learning provocations or small world set ups. You can do this in a Tuff Spot. Include some relevant props to support the book, making it a sensory, tactile experience which has the power to draw children in and bring the book to life.
This type of experience can inspire an interest in books in a playful and interactive way. Books become more than just for story time – they become an integral part of continuous provision, indoors and outdoors.
Not only are we promoting a love of books but we are helping develop play skills through facilitating these type of experiences. Children can have a go at storytelling, being the ‘teacher’, role playing, being imaginative, developing their creativity, joining in with a narrative and cooperating with others to share ideas.
Storytelling Spoons
Traditional Tales Spoons Set 1
These charming spoons, decorated with iconic fairy tale characters, are perfect for bringing classic tales to life. Children will use these spoons to narrate their own stories, complete with animated voices and dramatic gestures. A great way to spark creativity and ignite a lifelong love of storytelling. Instead of simply reading from a book, why not reach for these vibrant, hand-painted spoons?
Our Nursery Rhyme Spoons are here to help you bring those classic tales to life with a flick of your wrist—no wand required! In a world where everyone loves the idea of story spoons but few have the time to make them, we’ve got you covered. These charming, hand-painted spoons are perfect for group time and circle time activities, transforming your storytelling sessions into delightful adventures.
We would love to see ways you encourage your children to talk.
Tag us in your posts on social media so we can see all your magical activities!
