Developing Reading & Writing Skills

Children can learn about reading and writing long before they go to school, through reading books together, games, songs, rhymes and from seeing signs and notices in everyday life.

Reading Together

Reading stories with your child will help to capture their interest in books and will also help them to learn about letters and how they create words. Aim to read with your child every day - even if it's only for just 10 minutes. However - you needn't save books for bedtime - think about taking them out with you to the shops or on journeys and make time to share stories and sing songs and rhymes during the day. Here are just a few ideas on how to share books with your pre-school child:

• Choose a quiet place with no distractions from the television or radio.
• Select a book that looks interesting, which you'll both enjoy reading.
• Sit your child on your knee or beside you and share the book - it's also an ideal opportunity to share a cuddle at the same time.
• Don't worry if you feel nervous or silly reading aloud to start with; your child will not be judging you on how you read - they will simply be enjoying the experience of sharing a book with you. The more you practice, the better you'll become.
• When you start reading a book, first look at the front cover of the book and read out the title. Your child will learn that books are read from the front to the back, and that you have to turn the pages for the story to continue. They may want to hold the book and turn the pages themselves.
• Follow the words with your finger; this will help them to learn that the black marks on the page are important and that they tell the story.
• Talk about the pictures and characters in the books and relate them to something your child knows. If there's a picture of a cat, talk about a cat that you know. Your child will soon learn to do this too and this will help them to build up a stock of familiar words.
• When you talk to your child about what's going on in a book, give them time to respond. Ask them questions about the story or the pictures that cannot be answered by a simple "Yes" or "No".

Bookstart is a national programme that works through local organisations to promote a life-long love of books. It gives away free packs of books to babies, along with guidance materials for parents and carers. If there is a Bookstart scheme operating in your area, your baby should receive a pack at the 7-9 month health check with their health visitor. However, if isn't a scheme operating in your area, your child is still entitled to their free books - simply contact Booktrust to order your pack.

Learning about Letters and Words

Children often learn to read by matching letters with the sounds they already know. There are a number of ways you can help them to do this:

• Ask your child to spot letters they recognise (such as the first letter of their name) in words.
• Look at catalogues, brochures and signs in shops together; point out familiar words.
• Sing nursery rhymes and songs from a book together - point out the words as you sing them.
• Play 'I-spy' to show the sounds and letters different words begin with.
• Play games with sounds:
• take it in turns to find rhymes for different words (for example, "What rhymes with... cat?" and so on).
• make up silly rhymes together ("Bing Bong Bally - your name's Sally!").
• ask them to think of words that all begin with the same sound ("Sssssss - what begins with a ssssss?")

Learning to Write

Children enjoy experimenting with making marks and developing their own 'writing' from a very early age. Help them to develop this skill with the following activites:

• Encourage them to take part in other activities that will help to develop their motor skills, such as threading shoelaces, cutting paper or making shapes out of play dough.
• Help them to make marks on paper with a range of tools such as brushes, crayons or their fingers.
• Help them to 'write' labels, cards and invitations.