Home/School Connections

Fun and simple ways to create a lively literacy environment at home!

Thursday March 31, 2016

6:45-7:30 pm

Rideau Heights Public School

WELCOME!

Introductions:

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Emily Harris

• Read for Fun Chair on the Queen’s Students for Literacy executive team

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Samantha Boynton

• OT for Read for Fun with Queen’s Students for Literacy executive team

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YOUR TURN – Introduction of all participants and the age of child(ren)

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go."

— Dr. Seuss

AGENDA

1. Brief Introduction of Frontier College
2. Background Information – What is literacy and why is it important - Literacy in the family
3. “Literacy At Home”
4. “Literacy On the Go”
5. “Technology Tools for Literacy”
6. Wrap-Up – Questions?
7. Feedback

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“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader”

– Margaret Fuller

GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP

• Want kids to love reading as much as we do!
• Take away some simple, fun, interactive literacy activities.
• Different ways to use literacy – a different angle
• Share ideas

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FRONTIER COLLEGE

• National literacy organization.
• Began in 1899.
• Operates a variety of literacy programs across the country for children, youth and adults.
• Kingston chapter of Frontier College runs reading circles, one-on-one adult tutoring, prison literacy programs and literacy outreach programs.

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http://www.frontiercollege.ca/

Literacy. Learning for Life.

-Frontier College Motto

IMPORTANCE OF LITERACY

• MAIN IDEA – LITERACY IS EVERYWHERE!
• What does literacy mean? - Encarta Dictionary – the ability to read and write; skill in a particular area
• There is a misconception that learning about literacy is a complicated process and involves many steps – NOT TRUE – literacy practice can take many simple forms and can be done by almost everyone, including parents!
• Building blocks of reading and writing include: build spoken language through talking and listening, learn about books, learn the alphabet, listen to books aloud (Pena, 2009).
• Literacy at home needs to be FUN in order for children to want to participate in it. The ideal situation is that kids don’t even realize they are doing literacy at home because parents are providing them with fun, simple, interactive activities!

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“A house without books is like a room without windows” 

-Heinrich Mann

LITERACY AND THE FAMILY

• Learning to read and write starts at home before children even enter school which demonstrates that parents and home life really can impact a child’s literacy development (Pena, 2009).
• Parental involvement has been linked to students higher academic achievement and more positive attitude towards school (Rogers et.al, 2009).
• Parents can be involved in child’s literacy development in three main ways: school-based involvement, home-school conferencing and home-based involvement (Pena, 2009).
• The role of the parents should be to engage their children in different types of literacy activities that they are not doing in school – leave the writing, phonics, spelling to the teachers, parents should do FUN and easy literacy activities with their children at home to help reinforce the literacy concepts they are learning at school.

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents”

-Emilie Buchwald

LITERACY ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES

• The amount of literacy resources available is staggering!
• It would be impossible to discuss all the literacy activities in one session.
• We will provide highlights of possible literacy activities that can be done for different aged children.
• We will discuss literacy activities that can be done in the home, out of the home and also with technology.
• There will be hands on demonstrations of some of the activities in each of the three sections.

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“There is no substitute for books in the life of a child”

-May Ellen Chase

“LITERACY AT HOME”

Fun, simple, low cost literacy activities that can be done in the home!

LITERACY AT HOME

• FUN for both kids and parents to do!
• The activities are very easy to do and involve little or no preparation and/or instructions.
• Little or no cost involved with these activities.
• Many activities can be done with household materials.
• Most of the activities can be modified according to the age of the child to make the activities easier or more challenging.

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island"

— Walt Disney

LITERACY AT HOME

Fridge Fun

-The fridge can be a great place to display school work, book clubs, coupons, newspaper articles, books reviews etc.

- Magnetic alphabet letters on the fridge can be really handy “word of the day”

Message Board

- A great way for the whole family to get involved!

- Daily messages, reminders, questions to whole family (What would you like for dinner?), spelling words, messages with mistakes for editing practice etc.

Book Clubs

- A great incentive for children to begin reading – children have a say in the prize

- Team effort between parents and children

- Parents can set parameters on book club (number of books, type of books)

LITERACY AT HOME

Backwards Bonanza

- Using cue cards, write out words backwards and forwards.

-Children need to find the same word spelled forwards and backwards.

-Children create backwards words of household items and post around house.

Puppets

-Create puppets out of any household materials.

-Could create the main character of the current story they are reading.

-Fosters creativity – have children make up an entire story about the puppet.

Chalk Talk

-Hopscotch – include words in the squares that children have to rhyme with – every number has a different literacy task associated with it

- Use chalk as a writing material to create a story, draw characters etc.

LITERACY AT HOME

Baking with Letters

- A fun and delicious way to use letters!

- Create different letters or words using cookie dough or bread.

- For older children, incorporate spelling words into baking for extra practice.

Flyer Frenzy

-Have children browse through flyers with you and help create the grocery list.

-Have a word scavenger hunt with the flyers.

-Have older children classify the grocery list into food groups or themes (fruit etc.)

Magical Puzzle

-Choose any size puzzle (use less pieces for younger children) – paint the entire puzzle one solid colour – write a secret message on the puzzle with marker - have children “solve” the message by putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

What are some games or activities you use to promote literacy at home?

“LITERACY ON THE GO”

Literacy activities can be found virtually everywhere! Incorporate literacy into everyday errands such as the grocery store, the bank or the park. Of course, don’t forget about the library!

LITERACY ON THE GO

• Literacy activities can be done anywhere.
• NO COST for literacy activities on the go.
• Great variety in the activities you can do because of the changing environments you may be in.
• Easy to apply the same literacy activity in a variety of settings.

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“A good book has no ending” 

-R.D. Cumming��

LITERACY ON THE GO

Alphabet Game

- Great for long car rides!

-Can be played with as many people as you want.

-Variety of topics, allow children to choose topics, make topics relevant to child.

Audio Books

- Can be listened to in the car, so long as the book is on a CD.

- Parents can have a discussion with their child about the story during the car ride.

- Can make the ride more exciting for children.

“What Would You Do If You Were…”

- Unique way to incorporate the characters from the current book you are reading with your child.

- Discuss with your child what the character would do: at the park, at the bank, at the grocery store, at a hockey game etc.

LIBRARY VISITS

• The Kingston Public Library has 17 branches in total, making it really easy to incorporate library visits into your family routine.
• At the Isabel Turner Branch, there is a whole section dedicated to children’s books as well as books on parenting.
• There is a junior reference section which has helpful books for parents looking to find appropriate books for their children.
• When visiting the library with your child(ren), here are some tips:
• Discuss with your child beforehand to see if they have a particular book/topic they want to look for, this will help keep everyone focused while at the library.
• If the child is old enough, have them sign up for their own library card, this gives them a sense of independence and responsibility.
• Browse for books yourself in the library – REMEMBER, children learn a lot through imitation and modeling, therefore it is more likely your child will want to read books if you are too!

“A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them”

-Lemony Snicket�

Are there any “literacy on the go” ideas you’d like to share with the group?

� TECHNOLOGY TOOLS FOR LITERACY

Technology is everywhere in today’s world! Connecting literacy and technology is simple using all types of technology such as computers, TV’s, CD’s, DVD’s and the Internet.

TECHNOLOGY TOOLS FOR LITERACY

• REMEMBER -The main idea is to make literacy activities FUN for children.
• Linking technology with literacy activities is a sure fire way to get children interested in doing literacy activities.
• Watching T.V. with your children can become a literacy activity – Stay Tuned!
• Watching a movie or listening to a song provides plenty of opportunities to make a literacy connection.
• There are several education based websites on the Internet that provide literacy activities that can be done by children and parents together.

“Children are already accustomed to a world that moves faster and is more exciting than anything a teacher in front of a classroom can do”�-Major Owens���

TECHNOLOGY TOOLS FOR LITERACY

T.V.

- Watch T.V. with your child and have a thoughtful discussion afterwards. Topics of discussion could include: tricky words said by characters, predictions, singing to show jingles, discussing the purpose of advertisements.

DVD’s

- Great to watch books that have been turned into movies (Harry Potter) – can lead to discussions about similarities and differences between the book and movie.

- Leap Frog Learning DVD’s for younger children.

Audio Books

-Fun alternative to reading aloud!

-Students can make audio books themselves with a recording program that is programmed on virtually all computers (under Accessories – Sound Recording).

Do you have tips for using technology to promote literacy?

E-RESOURCES AT THE LIBRARY

Tumblebooks

Tumble Readables

World Book Kids

World Book Student

Searchasaurus

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RESOURCE PACKAGE

WRAP UP

• MAIN IDEA – LITERACY IS EVERYWHERE!
• Literacy at home needs to be FUN in order for children to want to participate in it. The ideal situation is that kids don’t even realize they are doing literacy at home because parents are providing fun, simple, interactive activities!
• The role of the parents should be to engage their children in different types of literacy activities that they are not doing in school – leave the writing, phonics, spelling to the teachers, parents should do FUN and easy literacy activities with their children at home.
• Literacy activities can be done in the home, on to go, or with technology.
• There are plenty of resources available in Kingston for parents such as the library, Chapters, Indigo and Play and Learn Education Store.

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“It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it” 

-Oscar Wilde��

QUESTIONS?

THANK YOU!

“TV.  If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six.  Open your child's imagination.  Open a book”