A child’s brain develops at an incredible rate during the first three years of life. A child’s early experiences with language contribute to healthy brain development and lay the foundation for learning to read when a child enters school. Parents are indeed a child’s first and most important teachers.

Early literacy is what children know about reading before they can actually read.

Researchers agree that children are more likely to become good readers if they start school with three sets of accomplishments:

* Oral language skills and phonological awareness: Children are able to comprehend and to express themselves with a wide range of words. They are able to distinguish the sounds as well as the meaning of words.

* Print awareness and letter knowledge: Children have learned that the black and white marks on a page represent spoken words. They are able to name the letters of the alphabet.

* Motivation to learn and appreciation for literary forms: Children have been exposed to a wide variety of literary experiences and have learned to love books and stories.

American Library Association