Many parents will accompany their little five-year-old on his or her first day of school, equally excited and apprehensive, hoping that the transition will be seamless.

Entering formal school for the first time requires great adjustments and the learning of new routines and knowledge. Parents can begin at any time to prepare their children to have literacy advantages and confidence for school. At home, the best preparation to alleviate anxieties associated with starting school is as simple as regular home routines.

Parents play a vital part in getting their child ready to read and to succeed in school. Reading is the most fundamental skill your child will use during his or her many years as a student.

So what are the ABCs of getting ready to learn to read? Here are a few tips adapted from the Children's Reading Foundation.

A. Aloud Read aloud 20 minutes or more daily with your child. This activity provides essential pre-literacy preparation before entering school. Be sure your child is able to see the pictures and words while you read. Allow him to turn the pages. Read with expression and use different voices for the characters. Change the tone and volume of your voice to reflect what is happening in the story. As you read aloud, your child will begin to understand how reading works: that sounds are linked to letters, groups of letters make words, and words give messages. Reading aloud allows children to hear the flow of language that they will learn to use. Reading together is a wonderful way to spend quality time with your child and promote a love for reading that will last a lifetime. Continue the practice even after your child is in school.

B. Basic Knowledge Before entering the first year of primary school, ideally, your child should know how to:

• Listen to a story and retell the beginning, middle and end

l Identify a range of upper case and lower case letters

l Say some of the sounds of the letters

l Recite some popular nursery rhymes and songs

l Demonstrate some print concepts like reading moves left to right, meaning comes from the words, pictures help meaning

l Speak in complete sentences

l Print first name using upper and lower case letters

C. Conversations Using words well in speaking improves a child's understanding of words in print. Help your child become a confident talker by having frequent conversations with them. Reading is about language. Listen to your child and ask questions that require more than a one- or two-word response.

• Discourage baby talk, such as "Me want milk"; however, do not criticise the speech of a child who has trouble with certain sounds, such as l, r, k, p, r or g. These are common problems that usually disappear with time.

• Help organise your child's thoughts, for example pointing out cause and effect relationships: dropping a glass causes it to break, etc.

• Listen to your child especially if they have something important to say. Give your complete attention.

l Talk with your child including all sorts of experiences like shopping trips, vacations, how things are made and stories you have read, etc.

Parents who support these key areas will find their children will have an easier transition into the first year of school.

Teachers also consider important a few readiness skills that will support the transitioning into formal schooling.

l Teachers expect that a child entering school will be physically healthy, rested and well nourished.

l Children should be able to communicate needs, wants and thoughts verbally.

l Children should be enthusiastic and curious about approaching new activities.

l Other readiness skills that support school routines are the ability to follow directions, not being disruptive in class, being sensitive to other children's feelings and the ability to take turns and share.

At the start of the new school year teachers and parents should enthusiastically set out the clearest and most developmentally appropriate expectations for the five-year-old child so that school is experienced with great excitement for all.

l E-mail your comments to literacymatters@logic.bm

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