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Keep up the learning momentum this summer!

6/23/2015

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Summer holidays are almost here! Soon the air will be filled with laughter and children will be frolicking in the sun, making memories that will last a lifetime.    After spending the last ten months in a classroom, children are ready to be with their friends, seek out adventure, and be free from the everyday responsibilities that come with being a student.  

Learning should be fun and engaging, and that is why summer is the best time of year to help children maintain their learning momentum.   There are endless opportunities for parents and children to participate in learning activities over the summer - because learning happens everywhere!   

Keep up the learning momentum with these activities:

1.  Lemonade Stand

Develop a plan for advertising, mixing ingredients, engaging with customers, and counting money - skills for everyday life.

2.  Backyard Science

With a little imagination and a few household items, help your child become a science whiz.  If you need some ideas, visit:
http://www.science-sparks.com/2013/05/19/summer-science/

3.  Reading Blog Challenge

Do you have a tween or teen who loves to read, but is always itching to get onto the next book?   If you are tech savvy and have an interest in blogging, consider helping your child build a book blog.  As with any online learning, safety is key, but with your supervision this could be a way to challenge your child and extend his learning. 

4.  Summer Memory Book

Help your child capture summer memories by documenting her favourite moments. A simple scrapbook is all you need to get started.  Add pictures, stories, and mementos.  This is an easy and simple activity will become a shelf favourite for years to come! 

5.  Garden Together

Children love to get dirty, they love to learn, and they love to be outside! What better way to capitalize on their curious natures than by getting them to help you in the garden.

Learning together is a gift.  Not only are you sharing an experience with your child, you are strengthening that special parent-child bond.   Actively engaging your child in learning activities throughout the summer will help to bridge the gap between the end of a school year and the start of a new one.  

Kick off your summer right and let the learning begin!


Desneiges Profili
Regional Program Manager
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy

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The Holiday Book Basket ... and other bookish holiday traditions

12/8/2014

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This morning I got out the Christmas Books! This marks the start of the holiday season in our home. The Christmas books live on a high shelf in the cupboard, only to be brought down in December. When the kids were little, they would wait with excitement for their favourite stories to be rediscovered. Each year we’d add at least one new book. Some of the books are very old, saved from my childhood, with torn edges and full of holiday love. Some are new, some are silly, some are spiritual, some are funny – all are part of the Christmas book basket that stays by the fireplace throughout the holidays.


My family is all about traditions. We love the comforting feeling of something special that only comes around every so often. We try to keep our traditions flexible and allow them to evolve over time. Aside from the Christmas book basket, we have many holiday traditions that include books. Here are a few of my favourites.

  • My husband's sister had a beautiful tradition of giving my children a book with a small stuffed toy to match the characters in the story. She’d hunt with determination to find just the right small stuffy. I still remember the many hours we spent reading Charlotte’s Web with our little spider, rat and pig in our laps. Later the kids would ‘play' the story, sending the characters on new adventures around our house.
 
  • My Mom lived in Ontario – too far to have the joy of reading bedtime stories to little ones. Her tradition was to read a storybook on tape and send the cassette with a copy of the book. We’d flip the pages of the book for our kids, as they listened to Nana read them a story. This continued for years and included chapter books and novels as the kids grew up. Now that Nana is gone, her voice reading us stories is a treasure of even greater value.

  • One year when money was tight, I went to the public library and signed out books for each of us to wrap and put under the tree. There was so much holiday spirit in spending time looking through the collection for just the right book. The kids were little, so when our borrowing time was up we went and picked some more. What a great tradition that is easy on the wallet!

  • Every year on Christmas Eve we gather on the couch and read The Polar Express before going to bed. The tradition started with my Grandmother, when we gave her the book when she was in her 90s. What do you get for an elder who has everything she needs and really doesn’t want any more things? A good story is always a good choice!  Many great Christmas storybooks have been made into movies (there could be a whole blog on that). If you haven’t read the books, go back and see where they all began!

  • For many years, I would read The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans in December. It never got old. Re-reading it was like visiting old friends and hearing their story again. This year my book club is reading The 13th Gift by Joanne Huist Smith. There are many people who find the joy and celebration of the holidays difficult if they are dealing with loss and grief. These are two of many books available that might offer some comfort. 

A Book Under Every Tree, and other similar programs, work to put books in holiday hampers for those who are struggling to make ends meet. Consider going through your books, or stopping by the bookstore, to pick up a great book to share with someone in need. Many communities across the Columbia Basin and Boundary collect books for holiday hampers. Contact your local community literacy coordinator or public library to find out if there is a program in your community.

Happy Holidays to you all! May your December be filled with love, happiness and some really great books!

By Joan Exley
Community Literacy Coordinator
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy - Nelson



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How to infuse reading into your summer

6/3/2014

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This summer think about adding a book to your beach bag! Research shows that children lose reading skills over the summer months and for some children that loss can be significant.

To get the most out of summer reading, get involved yourself. It isn’t enough to just give your child a book. It’s the time you spend making sure the book is the right level, and talking about the book that makes a big impact. For reading to improve, children need to understand what they are reading. Having a conversation about a book deepens learning and helps children maintain their skills through the summer months. 

To make sure your child is reading at the right level, try the five finger rule. Choose a page to read. Each time your child comes to a word he or she doesn't know, put one finger up. If you have five fingers up at the end of the page the text is too hard - for now.

Make summer reading fun and creative. Try something new! Try reading non-fiction, magazines, comics, online blogs and recipe books. Play word games in the car and do crossword puzzles. Write a grocery list or a letter to a grandparent. Write a story and illustrate it to make your own book. Keep a summer photo journal.

Talking about what you read is a great way to connect and deepen your child’s understanding. Try these questions to get a conversation going:

  • What do you think will happen next? 
  • Does this make you wonder about anything? 
  • What was your favorite part of the story? 
  • What did you learn? 
  • How did the characters change over time? 
  • What was the problem in the story? 
  • How did the problem get solved?

Here are a few more ideas to keep your child reading this summer:


  • Read aloud together with your child every day, and let your child read to you. 
  • Get your child trading books and comics with their friends. Hold a book swap party!
  • Set a good example by letting your child see you read. Crash out on the couch with a good book and a bowl of popcorn.
  • Take your child to the library. Many libraries have summer reading programs. 

Wherever your summer adventures take you, be sure to take a book. And remember what Dr. Seuss says…

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