The set of skills that develop before children begin formal reading instruction and which provide that foundation for later academic skills is:

Correct option is B

Emergent literacy.
Emergent literacy is a new term to conceptualize early reading and writing. This means that children attain knowledge about language, reading, and writing before they enter school. Children begin to learn from the day they are born. Interacting with their caregivers, they develop vocabulary and language which is rudimentary in the beginning but becomes increasingly complex as they grow.