This study contributes to knowledge about school-age educare as a literacy practice by investigating conditions for reading and writing among students aged 6-7. Data were collected through observations of teachers’ and students’ literacy-related actions, as well as individual interviews with teachers at two school age educare settings. The findings show that teachers led reading aloud and individual reading activities, in which students either read silently or “talk-read” with a peer. Reading aloud served several functions, including highlighting thematic work, focusing on a specific reading comprehension strategy, and creating order during snack time. The school-age educare teachers also initiated literacy skills training through isolated phonics exercises offered as an optional activity during “free play.” This practice closely resembled phonics teaching in school. By contrast, when students engaged with letter-sound associations duringoutdoor “free play,” the aim was not to practice phonics; instead, the language play served the purpose of the play itself. Thus, different practices occurred in parallel in the school-age educare settings: a more school based practice guided by school-age educare teachers, alongside more playful student-initiated practices inwhich reading, writing, and language play were explored on students’ own terms.