Talk with your child as you read together. Point to pictures and name what is in them. When he is ready, ask him to do same. Ask him about his favorite parts of story, and answer his questions about events or characters.

Teach your toddler to be a helper by asking him to find things. As you cook, give him pots and pans or measuring spoons to play with. Ask him what he is doing and answer his questions. ??

Whatever you do together, talk about it with your child.

When you eat meals, take walks, go to store, or visit library, talk with him. These and other activities give two of you a chance to ask and answer questions such as, "Which flowers are red? Which are yellow?" "What else do you see in garden? "Challenge your child by asking questions that need more than a "yes" or "no" answer.

Listen to your child's questions patiently and answer them just as patiently. If you don't know answer to a question, have him join you as you look for answer in a book. He will then see how important books are as sources of information.

Have your child tell you a story. Then ask him questions, explaining that you need to understand better.

When he is able, ask him to help you in kitchen. He might set table or decorate a batch of cookies. A first-grader may enjoy helping you follow a simple recipe. Talk about what you're fixing, what you're cooking with, what he likes to eat, and more.

Ask yourself if TV is on too much. If so, turn it off and talk!

*Respond to gestures and facial expressions.

*Begin to associate words they hear frequently with what words mean. *Make cooing, babbling sounds in crib, which gives way to enjoying rhyming and nonsense word games with a parent or caregiver. *Play along in games such as "peek-a-boo" and "pat-a-cake."

*Handle objects such as board books and alphabet blocks in their play.

*Recognize certain books by their covers.

*Pretend to read books.

*Understand how books should be handled.

*Share books with an adult as a routine part of life.

*Name some objects in a book.

*Talk about characters in books.

*Look at pictures in books and realize they are symbols of real things.

*Listen to stories.

*Ask or demand that adults read or write with them.

*Begin to pay attention to specific print such as first letters of their names.

*Scribble with a purpose (trying to write or draw something).

*Produce some letter-like forms and scribbles that resemble,in some way, writing.