7 Tips for Encouraging Early Literacy: Encourage your child’s literacy skills – well before she/he learns to read! 

From Scholastic.com

1. Form a close bond.  This one is easy! Your relationship with your child is very important to his/her ability to learn.  If you are interactive, close and loving, your child will reap the rewards.
2. Get in on the fun. Being a participant at playtime can bring you closer and help you learn useful Information about your child’s habits and emotions.
3. Tell tales. Build narrative skills by gathering family members at meal times and having them tell the story of their day.
4. Play rhyming games to build phonemic awareness. . . and just for fun.
5. Bring reading and writing into everyday life. Encourage literacy in your child’s daily routines by writing thank you notes or making shopping lists together.
6. Be attentive and engaged when you communicate with your child.
7. Read together. Make story time a daily ritual that your child can count on and look forward to.