A longitudinal study examined the development over the primary school years of the writing skills of children from the time they entered first grade until they completed grade three. In order to identify the nature of the literacy-related home experience of these children, interviews were conducted with each child (three classes in all) as he or she entered the program as well as at the conclusion of the project, and parents were asked to complete questionnaires. Each child's general level of intellectual functions, verbal skills, cognitive styles, and so forth was tested at the beginning of the project. At the end of each school year, standardized reading and writing tasks were administered. Although the patterns emerging from this study represent a relationship between familial, particularly maternally-mediated, literacy-related activities and literacy development in school, further explorations of these data are warranted. Significant correlations between child, family, home variables, reading and writing were observed. (Fifteen figures are included, and an appendix presenting a holistic scoring guide is attached.(NH)