One day in March, fourth grader Colette Vallotton stood at the front of her former preschool classroom holding a book she wrote herself.

It wasn’t long ago that she had sat on this same carpet at the Michigan State University Child Development Laboratories, or CDL, discovering the joy of reading. Now she was back — this time as an author.

Her book, “The Four Steps to Make a Friend,” shares lessons she learned about building friendships.

“I used to go here, and I really loved it,” Colette says. “The teachers were so nice, and I made a lot of friends. My book is about how you can make new friends and they can help you.”

Watching from the classroom was her mother, Claire Vallotton, a professor in MSU’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies, or HDFS. While Vallotton studies early communication and literacy development in children, she also experiences that journey firsthand as a parent.

“I’m so proud, and grateful that Colette is so engaged in her own writing and grateful to the CDL for the confidence that they instilled in her that she is able to put her own ideas on paper,” Vallotton says.

Experiences like Colette’s highlight the importance of strong early literacy support for children and families, something that educators, researchers and policymakers across Michigan are increasingly focused on improving.

Michigan currently ranks 44th in the nation in fourth-grade literacy. In response, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced the Every Child Reads strategy, a statewide effort to prioritize literacy and expand support for families and schools.

At MSU, researchers and educators have long been working to understand how children develop language and literacy skills, and how families and educators can support that development from the earliest years.

“One of our biggest challenges is that we fail to provide families with the tools they need to support their children’s well-being, development and learning,” says Vallotton. 

Growing literacy at home and in school

Colette’s inspiration for writing and publishing a book came from her positive early childhood literacy experiences at home and at the MSU Child Development Laboratories.  

“We encourage children to 'write’ in their own way through authentic activities such as making signs for the classroom or writing notes to one another,” says Carolyn Pomeroy, the pre-K teacher in Colette’s former classroom at the CDL. 

The CDL directly serves the Greater Lansing area, providing high-quality early childhood care and education. Teachers build literacy into every part of the day, from modeling language in conversations with preschool age children to providing a play by play of what the infants and toddlers are doing. Classrooms are filled with environmental print that children and teachers interact with daily, from menus and order pads in pretend play to notecards, markers and tape to label their buildings made of blocks. Familiar and new books are available in most areas of the classroom that teach vocabulary and concepts. Music also plays a big role in language and literacy development for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

“Teachers at the CDL create language- and literacy-rich environments that they interact with throughout the day,” says Laurie Linscott, CDL director. “Families play a critical role, and teachers and families work together to support this.”  

In 2024, the CDL was featured in a WKAR documentary called Building the Reading Brain, which helps parents learn about children’s brain development and what they can do to support literacy.

“Families are their children's first teachers,” Linscott explains. “Literacy development starts at birth and there are so many things families do to support it: talking to their babies, reading books with their toddlers, pointing out pictures and labeling them, turn taking in conversation, modeling language and vocabulary.” 

Research supporting educators and families 

The work happening in CDL classrooms is informed by research from MSU scholars studying early language and literacy development. HDFS is home to the Early Language and Literacy Investigations Research Group, known as ELLI.  

"Children's early language and literacy development strongly predicts subsequent reading achievement, and our work shows the importance of the home learning environment in supporting children's language and literacy development,” says Lori Skibbe, a professor in the department.  

To help caregivers and teachers understand the language and literacy skills that children need to be successful before entering kindergarten, the ELLI Lab group created several new tools that help to measure children's skills and progress more effectively such as the Narrative Assessment Protocol, the Access to Literacy Assessment system, and PAWPrint Concepts. 

“Educators are asked to do a lot for our young children. They need to teach them foundational early language and literacy skills while supporting their socioemotional development. Our work strives to provide tools and tips that might help make it easier for them to do this most effectively,” she says. 

Vallotton’s research focuses on how children’s early communication skills, such as emotional facial expressions, gestures and oral language, support later language development and social-cognitive skills. Much of this research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families.

“My work has always focused on both families and early child educators as the primary influences on children,” Vallotton says. “If we can help families be more responsive to their children, we support a wide range of developmental outcomes.”

Her work has led to widely used resources for educators and families across Michigan and other states, including the Great First Eight curriculum, which has been funded by foundation grants, as well as the Michigan Birth to Three Literacy Essentials, which has received funding from the state.

Training the next generation of educators and leaders

Beyond research and community programs, MSU is also preparing future educators to support children’s development in classrooms across Michigan.

HDFS offers a bachelor’s degree in child development, where students combine coursework with hands-on experiences in CDL classrooms.

“Training future educators to deliver curriculum in all areas of development is an integral part of our program as we teach the whole child,” Linscott says. 

Student teachers complete modules on Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy: Pre-Kindergarten before applying those skills alongside experienced teachers.

With more than 9,000 early childhood educator job vacancies in Michigan, the department centers its efforts and resources on preparing high-quality early childhood professionals. In fact, the department has a 100% pass rate for students taking the state teaching licensure exam.  

Alumni of the program don’t just take roles in the classroom.  

Ella Patrona, HDFS alum, works for Research to Practice Consulting (R2P), a Lansing-based policy and implementation firm helping translate early childhood policies into programs that support educators and communities. 

“My time at MSU gave me valuable exposure to early educators, how their classrooms operate and the tools and resources they use every day to support children,” Patrona says. “I’ve been able to build on that experience in my work at R2P, helping scale initiatives like the Literacy Essentials across the state.” 

Working with Vallotton and MSU, Patrona now supports the implementation of literacy initiatives across Michigan.

The next chapter for Michigan’s young readers

As part of her visit to read to the children for March is Reading Month, Colette brought three copies of her book to give to each MSU CDL location to use in their classrooms. She hoped that it would inspire other kids that they could also be writers.  

“Writing a book was really exciting,” Colette says. “I got to put my own words and then get feedback so that I could make changes to make the book even better.” 

For Vallotton, the moment reflects the importance of early literacy support from families and educators to the research that helps guide their work.

“It is early relationships — primarily within family — that help a child feel secure in the world and ready to learn,” she says. “If we support families and educators, we support a wide range of developmental outcomes.”