1. Read aloud to your child every day
● Read to babies even before they can talk
● Let your child see and touch the book
● Play with voices and the sounds of words

2. Create a print rich-home environment
● Have a wide variety of books available to children
● Encourage children to look at books on their own
● Set aside a family reading area and a family reading time

3. Use grocery shopping to encourage reading and writing
● Have children help you search for specific brands
● Use the aisle markers with your child to find items
● Match coupons to products
● Have children write out grocery lists

4. Cook with your child to develop literacy
● Show your child how to read a recipe
● Read the labels on ingredients together
● Make a family cookbook of favorite recipes
● Develop oral literacy by talking about family recipes and cooking tips

5. Point out environmental print to children.
● Note signage during nature walks and other outings
● Discuss logos
● Ask children to point out print outside of the home environment

6. Tell stories together
● Talk together about your family history
● Look at old vacation photos and discuss your memories of the trip
● Record your storytelling

7. Sing and rhyme with your child
● Choose songs with rhymes and word play
● Play rhyming games with your child such as what other words sound like ”honey”?
● Challenge your child to sing or say rhymes as fast as they can and don’t forget to laugh if the results are silly

8. Write with your child
● Provide lots of writing materials (chalk, markers, crayons, and pencils)
● Encourage your child to draw and write on their own
● Encourage your child to write thank you notes to grandparents, make to-do lists, etc.

9. Tie literacy to art
● Visit an art museum together and use storytelling to explain what is happening in the artwork. Allow your child to interpret the artwork however he/she views it
● Have children create their own drawings, painting, sculptures, and even instillation pieces made from recyclables in your living room
● Explain art with sentence strips on which children dictate to you what their artwork is about (consider making a recording in which the children can tell a story about their artwork)

10. Visit the library (and/or bookstore) often
● Make trips as often as you can
● Encourage your child to get his or her own library card
● Take advantage of library programs, such as read alouds and family book clubs

Source: Reading Is Fundamental