Darby and Dan Arakelian began an intense focus on the joys of reading when their daughters were just babies. Darby says most of their effort has been about exposing their girls to as much of the printed word as possible - books, magazines, papers.

"Any room they go in, there's a book to grab," she said. "We let them play with flashcards, just playing, not working. We try to make different types of activities available all the time, so they can pick and choose, but all the activities are geared toward learning."

It helps that she and her husband are avid readers.

"If we have free time, we're reading. The girls see magazines coming in, they see us reading the newspaper, and they see how much it is something that we enjoy."

What were some of the activities you did when they were babies?

Some of the stuff we did early on was from gifts from other people. Someone gave Brenna little miniature books, that she could hold in her hands when she was just a year old. They were itty bitty board books with nursery rhymes that fit perfectly in her hands. And that was her first book collection. Although I think Brenna chewed on one. It was a great gift. The CDs we listen to are storybooks. They can listen to a story, and with Tia for 45 minutes, twice a week, it was her downtime. It's story time by different narrators. They can get tired of hearing us read to them all the time.

How old were they when you started reading to them?

As soon as they could sit on our lap. We probably started when they were around 6 months old, and we did it beyond just bedtime. Before they would go to bed, we would read little prayer books at night and classics like "Goodnight Moon." But Brenna would get up 5 a.m., and we would have two hours before work. We would spend that time reading. I think it was pure volume of time spent with her.

How would you describe the reading rituals in your home now?

We go to the library every Thursday or Friday, so at least once a week, when Brenna comes home from school, she knows there will be a pile of new books. It's how she unwinds from school when she gets home. And, she'll read a short chapter book in 30 minutes. It's a free-time activity, she's not cleaning room, she's not practicing piano. Tia may grab a puzzle or artwork. We do two different things at night. We still read with both girls. Even when they become good readers themselves, they still love to be read to. We do about 25 minutes of reading together, and when Tia is ready to sleep, Brenna continues to read on her own for another half-hour. Usually, we'll read another couple of books with Tia before she falls asleep.

Someone gave Brenna a "High School Musical" book light, which has inspired her to want to read more on her own. Both girls have a book light.

What have you seen in terms of payoff for all this focus on literacy?

It's certainly given them an appreciation for the books. They crave the stories and the material in the books.

They are on a different level of comprehension. You can ask questions about the stories, and they will nail them.

It think with Tia it is expanding on her creativity, and Brenna is understanding more about comprehension, like what is the significance of this? Brenna is getting the message. For Tia, it's provoking creativity in storytelling.

They both get different things out of it.

And with Brenna, it's a personal goal. She gets a book, and she wants to read it and enjoy it.

Teachers recognize they are doing the right thing, and that they are on the right track. The praise and recognition from school and peer recognition motivates them.

At the end of kindergarten, Brenna was reading on a fifth-grade level. She's in the second-grade book club after school.

How do you keep up your efforts with a second child?

I think we had certain expectations, being first-time parents. I thought Brenna should be reading when she started kindergarten. So, when Tia was listening to a book, at least three times a week for about 30 minutes, we would work on sight words and on phonics.

Now, Tia and I have time together, on days when she is not in preschool, and we take about half an hour on those days to work on reading. You have a different attitude toward the second child. I don't know if she will be embracing it strongly, but we still set the same goal: We want her to be a solid reader before entering kindergarten.

Darby Arakelian

Age • 38

Home • Wildwood

Occupation • Vice president at a business analytics firm

Family • Dan, 39, program manager for a defense contractor

Daughters • Brenna, 7 and Tia, 4