As parents, some of us do not realize that we have the most influence on our children, and therefore are their first and main "teachers".  Though teaching your child to read may seem to be an intimidating task you'd feel more comfortable leaving to the schools, you should play a larger part in your child's literacy success- and it can be as natural as teaching your child to talk and walk! 

First off, the most important thing to do is to READ TO YOUR CHILD EVERY DAY! From the day he or she is born (or even while they are still in the womb)!

But then, later on down the road, one of the first steps to learning to read, is letter awareness.  Make your child aware of letters.  Start with their name.  Show them the name, spell it for them pointing to each letter as you say it.  Children will take interest in letters that pertain to them directly- in their names, or names of loved ones.  Be aware of letters in your environment, and point them out to your child- when you see a stop sign, say "Look! A red stop sign! It say's STOP- S-T-O-P"  When your child begins to pick up on these things you say, he will begin to point to letters and ask you what it says.  This is called "print awareness". He realizes that the letters form a word, and the word has a meaning. 

A few fun letter awareness building activities: 

Free- go on a letter hunt!  Give your child an old magazine or newpaper, and have them circle all of the B's or N's- whatever letter you choose.

 Leapfrog Fridge Phonics- (19.99 and under on Ebay) I highly recommend this wonderful learning toy!  My youngest child knew every letter of the alphabet when she was two years old by playing with this toy.   It's magnetic for your fridge or on a cookie sheet.  You place a letter in it, and it sings the letter name and the sound it makes.  Children love it!

Once your child is very familiar with all of the letters- (can name the letter he sees) he is ready to begin learning the sounds they make.  Once again, I recommend the Leapfrog products.  They have an entire line of high quality learning toys:  fridge phonics, word whammer, and more!  They also have a line of children's educational videos- the letter factory and the word factory are great for teaching letter sounds!  Otherwise, you can help your child by sounding out words, and bringing attention to the sounds that the letters make.

The Letter Factory DVD is a fun musical adventure in letter sounds.

When your child begins to show interest in letter sounds, it is time to start letting them have a turn at reading!  There are many books and kits to choose from, but I will give some recommendations for the very beginning books- you want to start with something very very simple- 4-8 pages, 1-4 words per page.  You want to look for repetition and succession of words; for example:  Page 1- a cat.  Page 2 a fat cat. Page 3- a fat cat sat. Notice how it uses the same word, and word sounds, so that your child can become easily familiar, and memorize easily.  It is important your child is comfortable, and that it is easy for them, so they will not become discouraged. 

              The Now I'm Reading Series by Norma Gaydos is perfect for beginning readers.  Includes books in a binder and stickers for incentives.

When reading with your child, YOU read the title, pointing to each word- then say- "Now you read it" and help them to point to each word.  Then do the same for the first page, then second, and on throughout the book.  Read the same book until your child can read it alone.  Then move on to another book.  Remain at the same level of reading until your child is able to read at least 10-20 books at that level alone.  Remember- reading the same book over and over again is GOOD for them! (even if it is putting you to sleep.) 

Remember to give your child tons of praise- learning to read is a huge accomplishment!  You could even make a chart where your child earns a sticker for each book he reads- (some books include this type of thing.) and dont forget to praise yourself for being a wonderful parent who decided to be proactive in their child's education-and give thier child a head start in literacy- Good for you!