I believe that reading/learning could be nurtured as a habit, not merely a practice/approach we use only when we want to acquire certain knowledge. My husband and I adore reading very much. As a child, I was an early reader, I was able to read before I entered formal school. I had lots of books, when most of my friends still learn to spell, I already read short stories.
I still remember my mother and father used to buy me some story books and sometimes borrowed them from local library.
I loved reading because my parents were readers too. According to my father, I hadn't been forced to learn to read, but I got the skill by myself when my father gave me a set of alphabets when I was about 4 or 5 years old to play with. From that I started to know the alphabet letters and began to spell.
I am using the same approach to my children. We read in front of them, to them and with them. I bought my children sets of alphabet blocks, magnetic alphabets, alphabet cards and so on, so that they could play with.
A child need to be nurtured with love of learning before he start to learn to read. Reading is not merely holding a book and read. A child need to master some skills in order to get themselves ready to read i.e. motor skill.
To help children with motor skill, parents should help them in stimulating their physical. Example, instead of leaving them in walker for the whole day, allow them to crawl, creep, climb and hold things.
From day to day as our children grow older, more motor activities are needed by them to help them in mastering hand-eye coordination which is important for them to write later.
