Read to children every day. Point to words as they are read, making special note of familiar and often repeated words in the same book. If a rhyme appears repeatedly, ask youngsters to "read" it after hearing it a few times. Teach right-to-left reading. Move your finger along the sentences to show the way written words are read. Discuss books after reading them. Ask about favorite pages or pictures, then turn back to them. Encourage children to point out words or letters that they recognize.
Capitalize on a child's natural interest in names by teaching name recognition. Include your child's first name in his room decorations. Hang the name on a wall in a spot that is at child-eye level. Read each letter with your child. Label your youngster's possessions, then periodically ask her to read her name as you point at the label. Say each letter to your child as you write his name. Associate other written words that your child encounters in her daily life with her name. The name of a favorite store may share this first letter. Finding similarities like this may seem like a game, but is all about reading.
Before children form letters with a pencil, they must learn some writing basics. Teach children to draw a straight vertical line from left to right. Continue this practice with wavy lines and zig-zags. Teach your child to start a circle at the top, moving his pencil in an outward curve down from the left, then back up again curving out at the right to meet the line at the top. If this is difficult for the child to do, make a small dot at the top as a reminder to begin a circle there. Mastery of these pre-writing techniques provides the basis for formation of each letter in the alphabet.
Teach children to hold a pencil pinched between their thumb and middle finger with the index finger on top. Create a writing-friendly environment for your child. Make writing tools available to him, such as blank and lined paper, and crayons, pencils or markers. Although early learners will not write perfect or even legible words at times, this provides essential practice in holding writing instruments and maintaining control of printed lines. Write names or familiar words and encourage children to copy them. Make writing a family affair by having your children sign their names on greeting cards or help make food shopping lists.