All children have two wonderful resources for learning–imagination and curiosity. As a parent, you can awaken your children to the joy of learning by encouraging their imagination and curiosity. Teaching and learning happen when parents and children do simple things together. For instance, you and your child can: sort the socks on laundry day–sorting is a major function in math and science; cook a meal together–cooking involves not only math and science but good health as well; tell and read each other stories–storytelling is the basis for reading and writing (and a story about the past is also history); or play a game of hopscotch together–playing physical games will help your child learn to count and start on a road to lifelong fitness.
By doing things together, you will show that learning is fun and important.
You don’t need to be an especially skillful reader yourself to help your child. Nor do you have to devote great amounts of time to reading with your child. It’s the quality of time that counts. Just be consistent--give as much time as you can each day to help your child.

Start Early and Be Consistent
At just a few months of age, an infant can look at pictures, listen to your voice, and point to objects on cardboard pages. Guide your child by pointing to the pictures, and say the names of the various objects. By drawing attention to pictures and associating the words with both real pictures and the real-world objects, your child will learn the importance of language.
Children learn to love the sound of language before they even notice the existence of printed words on a page. Reading aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word. When the rhythm and melody of language become a part of a child’s life, learning to read will be as natural as learning to walk and talk.
Even after children learn to read by themselves, it’s still important for you to read aloud together. By reading stories that are on their interest level, but beyond their reading level, you can stretch young readers’ understanding and motivate them to improve their skills. This will also teach them the tone of voices they can use and the proper way of saying the words as you set the sample of reading.

Create a Hunger for Reading by Doing it
Our goal is to motivate children to want to read so they will practice reading independently and, thus, become fluent readers. That happens when children enjoy reading. We create that curiosity and hunger by reading stories and poems to children.
We can help our children find the tools they need to succeed in life. Having access to information through the printed word is an absolute necessity. Reading can enrich our minds and spirits; we can also relax and enjoy some precious moments. With your help, your children can begin a lifelong relationship with the printed word, so they grow into adults who read easily and frequently whether for spiritual feeding, information or pleasure.

Tot Talk
What’s “old hat” to you can be new and exciting to preschoolers. When you talk about everyday experiences, you help children connect their world to language and enable them to go beyond that world to new ideas. Talking enables children to expand their vocabulary and understanding of the world. The ability to carry on a conversation is important for reading development. Remember, it is a better to talk too much than too little with a small child.
1. As you get dinner ready, talk to your child about things that are happening. When your 2- or 3-year-old “helps” by taking out all the pots and pans, talk about them. Which one is the biggest? Can you find a lid for that one? What color is this one?
2. When walking down the street and your toddler stops to collect leaves, stop and ask questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” answer. Which leaves are the same? Which are different? What else grows on trees?
3. Ask “what if” questions. What would happen if we didn’t shovel the snow? What if that butterfly lands on your nose?
4. Answer your children’s endless “why” questions patiently. When you say, “I don’t know, let’s look it up” you show how important books are as resources for answering questions.
5. After your preschooler tells you a story, ask questions so you can understand better. That way children learn how to tell complete stories and know you are interested in what they have to say.
6. Expose your children to varied experiences–trips to the library, museum, or zoo; walks in the park; or visits with friends and relatives. Surround these events with lots of comments, questions, and answers.

Here are some other things you could do with your children:
Listen to your children and pay attention to what they need.
Read with your children every chance you get.
Tell family stories.
Limit their television watching.
Have books and other reading materials available to your children.
Look up words in the dictionary with them.
Encourage them to use reference books.
Share favorite poems and songs with them.
Take them to museums and historical sites, when possible.
Discuss the daily news with them.
Go exploring with your children and learn about plants, animals, and local geography.
Find a quiet place for children to study.
Encourage reading for the fun of it and as a free-time activity.
Talk and listen to your children. Language is like a four-legged stool: Speaking, listening, reading, and writing are its parts, and each supports the other.
Encourage children to write by responding to the ideas they try to communicate in writing.
Monitor your children’s schoolwork and applaud their efforts.