There is great pressure on parents to teach children to read as early as possible. In reality, precocious (early advanced) readers seem to almost master the skill on their own, without the assistance of highly touted, commercially available programs. The 18-month-old toddler who names the letters on alphabet blocks; or the 26-month-old who can…

The home environment provides children with their first literacy experiences. Parents are thus well-placed to facilitate the development of emergent literacy skills in their children before formal reading and writing begins at school. These emergent literacy skills include print awareness, motivation to explore print, shaping and writing skills,…

Describes several techniques that enable parents to prepare their preschool children for the actual process of learning how to read that they will encounter when they enter school. (FL)

Takes issue with articles appearing in "Reading Teacher" entitled "Portrait of My Son as an Early Reader." Argues that parents who teach their children to read at an early age may neglect or overlook other essentials of their physical, emotional, and social growth. (FL)

Answers to two parents and a gifted fourth grader are given by two educators on questions of peer acceptance, a three-year-old who is reading, and communication skills. (CL)

Outlines 26 activities to help parents develop informal learning experiences which foster an interest in reading, including bookmaking, grocery shopping, read aloud sessions, and zoo trips. (MM)

Families are children's first educators and play a critical role in young children's literacy development. Young children's success as readers is related to their early literacy experiences in the home. Family literacy practices determine young children's literacy skills prior to formal instruction. However, families may not be aware of best…

Examines studies on the nature and function of literacy activities at home, identifying barriers contributing to the separation of home and school, particularly for children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds (e.g., different literacy practices and discourse patterns). Ways to facilitate home-school connections are presented. Studies conducted…

Annotates a number of books that can help teachers demonstrate for young children the importance of reading. (FL)

Discusses the importance of preschool literacy training. (FL)

Describes ways that both parents and teachers can instill a love of reading in children. (FL)

Explains that if the ability to read in the fullest sense can be fostered from infancy in and out of school, children will grow to be the highly literate society of tomorrow. (DF)

Presents evidence that reading can be learned by the same informal and unstructured methods as speech, and calls for a concentration on slow readers. (CRH)

Highlighted by Katy's early reading and writing experiences, guidelines to help young children become effective readers and writers are offered to parents and teachers. (BB)

Investigates the reading development of six preschool children who learned to read at home without systematic instruction. Attempts (1) to find out whether there was an identifiable process by which these children learned to read and (2) to study th role of the parents in these children's early reading acquisition. (HOD)