Encouraging your child to be a reader can sometimes be an arduous task. Not all children have a natural affinity to loving books, and not all children like to sit still long enough to make it through the first page!

We have collected a few ideas to help you along the way in your quest to try promoting a love of reading to your child.

• Use a Variety of Print Media - Books, Magazines, Newspapers, Take-Away Menus, Dictionaries, Flyers, Junk Mail, Grocery Boxes, Signs, Building Plans, Maps, etc are all great examples of the different ways text and words can be displayed in society. Encourage your child to look through these resources to boost their knowledge of the different ways words can be presented. Talk to them about the items they like in the catalogue, or ask them to find you a word or symbol they know. You will finally have a great use for all that Junk Mail!
• Unwanted Computer Keyboards - Remove the cords, then incorporate these into your child's Dramatic Play area. It is a great way for your child to extend their letter recognition and it's lots of fun to pretend to be typing like a grown up.
• Create a Literacy Station - Set aside a special box full of pencils, pens, textas, crayons, markers, paper, cardboard, sticky-notes, note pads, grid paper, rulers, hole punches, tracing sets, etc. Sit with your child regularly at a small table and draw with them while chatting about your pictures and writing. Remember, if you are going to teach your child to write letters, make sure you check your State's preferred handwriting guidelines for School. The last thing you want to do is send your child off to school with the wrong handwriting example, only for them to have to unlearn everything you have done with them and then relearn the correct way. Handwriting text examples are available through the Department of Education and Training in your State.
• Read to Your Child as Often as They Will Let You - We know it is an oldie, but still the more you do it the more your child can develop the love of pictures, recognise words and letters, and enjoy hearing your voice and the closeness that brings.
• Play Literacy-Based Games - Eye Spy is a great way to boost your child's literacy skills. For younger children, instead of using the letter to play, play using the sounds. For example - 'Eye Spy with my little eye, something beginning with 'c' (and say the sound). Yes, it's cat c-a-t, cat!'  A fantastic sanity saver on long car drives.
• Sing - When you sing, you use lots of words and sounds, so encourage your child to sing regularly. It is loads of fun and a great stress release for grown ups too.
• Sign of the Times - signs are a great way to develop pre-reading skills. Every time your child points out the 'fast food sign' from the car window as you pass (you all know who I am talking about), they are demonstrating their understanding that a group of symbols or pictures forms the same sign every time. They have a great understanding of what happens in this location and so can tell you that they want to go in to have chips and hamburgers and all the other great stuff kids love and parents hate, because they know what the sign means! Use this then as a basis for finding products in the supermarket, working out where the car needs to get petrol, or finding your way home from the shops.

Just because your child doesn't sit on a couch with a book doesn't mean they aren't reading or absorbing the literacy examples around them, so get started with a few of the ideas listed above!