This paper examines how literacy is defined and enacted by teachers in early childhood programmes pointing to the differing ways views of early literacy impact practice. It is argued here that early literacy development during the years before school is dependent on children's experiences of having literacy activities modelled around them and the ways in which adults include them in everyday literacy interactions. Early childhood teachers reveal differing understandings of early literacy during the years before formal school and this impacts their decisions concerning literacy activities and practice within their preschool rooms. Three early childhood teachers are presented here, through video clips and video-stimulated interviews around their literacy activities with preschool children. They demonstrate a range of practice which is shown to depend on their views of young children's literacy development. These vignettes have implications for further professional discussion and learning. (author abstract)