Young children typically recite or sing the alphabet before they recognize individual letters. By preschool they begin to identify letters by name and shape.

To learn to read, a child must understand the letter-sound relationship and distinguish individual sounds, or phonemes, within words. Crucial to reading, phonics skills help children sound out new words (If I can read "pot," then I can read "hot" and "spot").

The act of rhyming directs a child's attention to the similarities in words (hat sounds like cat). Because sensitivity to rhyme comes quite naturally, it is an excellent entry into phonological awareness, or the ability to distinguish individual sounds in words.

Children first learn to spell by breaking down words into sounds. But many sounds in our language have irregular spellings. Children must learn the fundamental spelling rules and recognize commonly misspelled words.

To begin their study of math, children must distinguish numerals from letters and shapes and to understand that numbers are symbols for amounts.

Once children know that numbers are symbols for objects (2 stands for two cars) they learn to count sets, or groups of objects, to find sums. Finally, sets of objects can be replaced by numerals and added together in equations.

The inverse of addition is subtraction - to take away objects and tell how many are left. Once children grasp subtraction, sets of objects can be replaced by numerals in equations.

Creating art is an exercise in learning how to see. With increased confidence in their skills, children discover that art is a vehicle for self-expression.

Encouraging children to create music deepens their understanding of music as a form of self-expression. Experimenting with basic musical elements such as rhythm, tempo and mood helps lay a foundation for parallel concepts such as those found in poetry.