A child’s reading skills are one of the most influential predictors of future success. It’s never too soon to begin instilling early literacy skills in your young learner. In fact, simply talking to an infant often throughout the day will help him or her absorb the sounds and rhythms of language. As your young student enters first grade in Pembroke Pines, he or she will begin the transition from picture books to “easy readers.” There are many ways you can support your first grader’s reading skills at home. 
Create a Literate Home
First graders learn by example. To encourage your young learner to remain interested in books, it’s essential to be a good role model. Let your child see you reading a wide variety of materials every day, including fiction books, nonfiction books, magazines, and newspapers. Keep reading materials readily available in the home. Even if your child cannot read most titles yet, he or she will benefit from growing up in a literate home .
Build Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is an essential building block of literacy skills. This ability allows children to identify and use the individual sounds within the words. Better phonemic awareness supports a child’s reading comprehension and spelling abilities. You can support your child’s phonemic awareness by sounding out each individual component of the word when reading together. Even if a word has only one syllable, you can stretch out the sounds so that your child can hear them better. For example, the word “chair” can be broken down into the sounds “ch” and “air.”
Encourage Storytelling
If your child does not express much interest in books, you can engage him or her by encouraging your child’s natural storytelling abilities. Ask your child to tell you a story and write it down while he or she is speaking. Then, read the story aloud while pointing to each word. Do not expect a first grader to compose a long story complete with plot and themes. A simple story might consist of, “I like eggs. My cat is brown,” and so on. After writing down your child’s story, ask him or her to illustrate it to encourage a sense of ownership.