Parents and caregivers are the most important contributor to a child's urge and ability to read and write. As children realize that using language to get their needs met, their language increases quickly. Children need experiences that introduce them to the skills required to listen, speak, read, and write. What we as adults take for granted, requires coordination of multiple, sometimes complex, skills. Childcare Exchange writes, "Every child’s birthright is the capacity to grasp spoken as well as written language. From achieving success in school and career, to forging loving bonds with family and community, language mastery is a lifelong asset."

Mastering language takes alert observation skills and the ability to focus on small details--which kids are good at, especially when properly motivated and gradually prepared.  Here are a few ideas to build skills needed to help children learn to read and write:

• Be a good role model. Talk with children daily. Make them real back and forth conversations about things that interest the kids. Don’t lecture and ramble on. It’s boring and puts your own language skills to more use than the child’s.
• When you converse with the children, be engaged, animated, and responsive. Avoid responding with vacant “uh-huhs” or children won’t be able to refine their own speaking skills through give and take conversation.
• Within kids’ eye-shot, read daily for pleasure as well as business.Keep books, newspapers, and magazines around. When kids ask a question you don’t know, be honest and show that you, too, turn to books to learn.
• Visit the children’s library together often.
• Work on puzzles and play matching and memory games.
• Read together daily. With younger kids, you should read out loud. As children begin to read, take turns reading aloud. And be warned, even when children can read, don’t assume they no longer want you to read aloud to them. Some kids pretend they CAN’T read because they’re afraid their parents will stop reading to them!
• Show how reading and writing are used in real daily life. Take a grocery list to the store with you. Let your child check off items placed in the cart. Explain how you read signs in aisles to know where to find specific foods. At restaurants, point out items on menus that inform people of choices.

To learn more about how to help your child master these skills, attend this month's Coffee With the Director on February 4th with the topic being Emerging Literacy Skills. For even more information, attend on March 3rd for Every Child Ready to Read!