Giving your kids an edge in school is one of the priceless gifts that you can give them. One way to give your multiples an edge in school is to develop their desire to read. Literacy is a skill that can be developed early, and really it needs to be developed as early as possible. While being able to read on their own is a skill that will most likely not develop until after they enter kindergarten, you can develop literacy skill basics by reading to them and playing letter and word games.

Literacy Development Activity No. 1: Reading Time
The first way that you can encourage your children to develop a love of reading is to read to them. Even if your multiples have not yet been born, you can still stimulate their minds by reading to them. Reading can become a bedtime routine, or it can be used as a reward. The key is to make reading seem like a fun thing to do.

Literacy Development Activity No. 2: The Alphabet Song
Another way that you can stimulate literacy is by teaching your multiples the alphabet song. The alphabet song makes learning the alphabet much easier for children to do. It can also be a fun activity for you to share with your kids. After they have mastered the song, you can pair the singing of the alphabet song with an illustration of the letters. As you sing each letter, you will point to the corresponding letter on the graphic. This will help your multiples to learn what the letters look like. You can then advance the activity by asking for your multiples to show you where the letter "M" is or the letter "O".

Literacy Development Activity No. 3: Word Games
As your multiples develop their literacy skills, you can play word games. You will need flash cards for these activities. Memory is a game that works well for a word game. On one card you will have a picture, and on its' pair will be the written word for the item on the card. For example you can have a picture of a dress on one card and the word "dress" on its match.