According to the National Reading Panel, young children entering school have the greatest opportunity for success if they’ve practiced the six skills of early literacy: letter knowledge, vocabulary, phonological awareness, print motivation, print awareness, and narrative skills. These are foundational skills that help a child build on their success in reading, learning, and comprehension as they grow. Literacy skills begin to develop in the first five years of a child’s life, so it’s important to help your child build their toolkit before they enter kindergarten. This series of posts is intended to help caregivers find ways they can practice the six skills of early literacy at home or while they’re out and about town. The most important thing to remember is that each of these skills is built during time spent together. Learning is fun! It doesn’t need to feel like you’re running drills. A conversation with your child and snuggling up to read a good book together is one of the best ways to reinforce any of the six skills.