There are many ways to encourage your child to become involved in reading. Here are some questions to ask yourself to keep you on track:

For Babies (6 weeks to 1 year)

  Do I provide a comfortable place for our story time? Is my child happy to be here?

  Am I showing her the pictures in the book? Am I changing the tone of my voice as I read to show emotion and excitement?

  Am I paying attention to how my child responds? What does she especially like? Is she tired and ready to stop?

For Toddlers (1 to 3 years)

All of the questions above, plus:

  Does my child enjoy the book we are reading?

  Do I encourage her to "pretend read," joining in where she has memorized a word or phrase?

  When I ask questions, am I giving my child enough time to think and answer?

  Do I tie ideas in the book to things familiar to my child? Do I notice if she does this on her own?

  Do I let my child know how much I like her ideas and encourage her to tell me more?

  Do I point out letters, such as the first letter of her name?

Remember: Children learn step by step in a process that takes time and patience. They vary a great deal in the rate they make progress and in what holds their interest.

For Preschoolers (3 and 4 years)

All of the questions above, plus:

  Do I find ways to help my child begin to identify letters and make the letter-sound matches?

For Kindergartners (5 years):

All of the questions above, plus:

  Do I find ways to help my child begin to identify some printed words?

  Do I let my child retell favorite stories to show she knows how the story goes and what's in it?

For Beginning First-Graders (6 years):

All of the questions above, plus:

  Do I give my child the chance to read a story to me using the text, picture clues, her memory - or any combination of these ways that help her make sense of the story?