Read the Summer Away

With only a few weeks left of summer break, why not enjoy the rest of your vacation catching up with a good book? You can visit your local library or book store and pick out a book you have been meaning to get to, or select a new book to read to the kids. Here are a few recommendations from the Adult Literacy League:

For children ages birth-5 years old:

The Surprise Garden – by Zoe Hall and Shari Halpern (illustrator)

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together – by Mary Ann Hoberman, and Michael Emberley (illustrator)

For children ages 3-5 years old:

The Colors of Us – by Karen Katz

Turtle in Paradise – by Jennifer L. Holm

For kids ages 10-15 (and adults!)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians – by Rick Riordan, young adult series (Greek mythology)

The Kane Chronicles – by Rick Riordan, young adult series (Egyptian mythology)

The Hunger Games – by Suzanne Collins

For adults:

Pride and Prejudice – by Jane Austen

The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 

The Casual Vacancy – J.K. Rowling

We hope you enjoy these wonderful books with your friends and family. Happy Friday!

Something New for Summer

It's summertime, your kids have been in the house all day playing more video games than they should and eating way too much ice-cream. You're sitting in the kitchen thinking, “What can I do to get these kids outside or engaged in a productive activity?”

Well, you're in luck! Myself and the other Public Allies have found a solution for your summertime blues. START A BOOK CLUB! It’s simple, free and a lot of fun! You can invite the the children in your neighborhood, your friends and family members. The group doesn't have to be just for kids- reading is an activity that both young and old can enjoy!


All you have to do is create a simple schedule Monday-Friday and have your child or teen track how many pages they read each day. They will feel a sense of accomplishment and they will also learn along the way.

At your book club meetings, you can ask the group different questions about all the various books each of them have read. Some good questions to ask are: “What character can you relate to most in your book?" or "If you can add another character to the story, who would it be and what would they do?"


Questions like these should encourage lively discussions and encourage your kids to think critically about what they read.

We hope you’ll enjoy this summertime activity and read some fantastic books with your family and friends!

Alphabet Soup!

As technology and the internet become more readily available, why not take advantage of the fun resources for your children online!?

One we would like to highlight today is the "Alphabet Soup" game on the Sesame Street website! This game is perfect for the beginner readers. Words are spelt out but are missing one letter. You just have to insert one letter!

Click the Picture Below:

As always, with any internet activity, please keep a close watch over your child. With ads and random pop-ups, anything can accidentally clicked on. I would advise disabling pop-ups, if your internet browser doesn't already have that setting in place AND setting up parental settings that restrict certain websites. Google has some resources you can check out it too (especially if you plan on leaving your young child unattended for any period of time while he or she is playing online). http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/familysafety/

Happy Friday everyone!

Write Your Own Folk Tale.

After reading an article about African folktales, we thought it'd be a fun activity for your little one to write a folktale of their own.

African folktales are cultural stories that have been passsed down from generation to generation filled with experiences, animals, environment, and more. Folktales tend to explain events people couldn't understand, or the reasons why animals act and look the way they do. For example, ask your child what he or she thinks about why the moon rises or how the zebra got his stripes. Be creative and work together!


What you will need:

• Construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Markers, crayons, or paints
• Lined paper
• Pencil or pen
• Yarn or pipe cleaners

Step 1: Do a thought jogger with your child to help them come up with creative animals to use.  Be sure to discuss the parts of the story with your child too.


Step 2: Have your child practice by writing down the details of the story one line at a time neatly. Have them draw a picture to match what they describe.

Step 3:Have your creative genius make a final copy and bind it together with pipe cleaners or colorful yarn!

Step 4: Have fun!

We hope you and your family enjoy this activity and we hope you have a great weekend!

It's all in the eyes.

When you think of reading to your children, your class or a young child, you usually think to point out the pictures, the colors, and all the pretty things on the pages. Now all of that is wonderful, but what about the actual text of the book? Isn't that what we want them to eventually understand so they can be successful readers? Well, a recent study shows that pre-school children who are read to and have help focusing on the text of the books are better readers as they grow up. In part of the study, they watched children's eye movements to see where they were focusing on and usually it was on the teacher or the picture, but not the text! They gave a few tips on to how to get children to begin focusing on the text so they could familiarize themselves with the letters and full words.

Try it yourself! See if your child is focusing on the words by simply watching their eyes when you read to them. Perhaps their only focusing on the pictures or looking at you? Of course its difficult to get a young child to focus but there are some great ways to make it happen! For instance you could use "matching cards" made out of pieces of paper or flash cards with the words and letters on them from the book you are about to read. Then, after you read a few sentences ask the child to match the letter or card in their hand with the word or letter on the page. You could also ask the child to find the first word on the page, or the last word on the page. This matching game will have their reading skills soar and they will be independent readers before your very eyes!

I hope you enjoyed learning something new today and be sure to share it with others. Have a Happy Friday everyone!

National Musuem Day- Free Admission!

This Sunday the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) will be offering free admission as part of the Association of Art Museum Directors national Museum Day!

 Be sure to be that at 2pm for The Storytellers of Central Florida who will be telling folk tales, Cracker tales and other stories about Floridians.

All ages welcome. Free admission to the OMA May 20/noon-4pm.

2416 North Mills Ave Orlando, Florida 407 896 4231

 Bring the family and enjoy a FREE afternoon of art, reading and fun in our great city!

International Day of Families--May 15!

This upcoming Tuesday on May 15 the United Nations and the rest of the world will be celebrating International Day of Families! This is an annual celebration for families all around the world and this year the focus is on “ensuring work family balance”. The United Nations wants to call attention to all families and how each of them provides economically and emotionally for each member. To celebrate this special day take some time to learn about another culture! Ask your child to name as many countries as they can. From there, ask your child to pick one country that they would like to know more about. After you have your country, do some research! What do their families look like? What do their houses look like? Do both the boys and girls go to school? You can find that information on the internet, in books or by having conversation with people from that culture.

Happy Family Literacy Friday everyone!

The Ultimate Bedtime Story.

Hey everyone, Happy Family Literacy Friday! Today we're going to tell you all about an adventure that will require to use your imagination and a few books. Grab a large sheet, your child's favorite blanket and book and head to your living room because its tent building time! What kid or adult doesn't love buidling a tent, castle or giant mansion right in their own home? You can get your child using their imagination and excited about reading for free right in the comfort of your family room. You may want to choose a story about kids going on a camping trip, a princess in a castle or Native Americans. There are so many ways to get creative and have a few good laughs along the way. You and your family could tell the stories in different voices or even act out the scenes. This adventurous activity will be sure to become a favorite for everyone!

See, big kids like to have adventures too!

A Card Of Their Own.

Do you have a library card? Does your child?


If your answer is no it looks like you and your family have an adventure in your near future! Having a library card is a wonderful and free commodity offered all over Florida. With a library card you'll be able to check out books, music, DVD's and even books on tape. Not only can you check out iteams you can also take classes at your local library teaching you to use a computer, type on a keyboard or set up an email address.


The reason we decided to write about this is because all of us Public Allies use our cards all the time. What I personally love to do is check out books online and have them delievered to my house! It's such a fun surprise to come home from a long day and see a bright blue bag from the library with my book in it.

So This weekend round up the gang and head to your local library. Have your children sign themselves up for their card, this way they feel a sense of ownership over their reading, and they'll have a card on it with their name! They will feel like rockstars.


Free books, computers, classes, DVD and music? It would be silly to not take part in these free and wonderful things. If you're nervous or unsure of how to find a library around you, we have posted the websites in the tri-county area of Orange, Osceola and Seminole County.


Alright families, now its time to head down to your local library and sign up for your very own library card, we promise you'll love it!




http://www.ocls.info/


http://www.osceolalibrary.org/


http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/Libraries/index.aspx

I Spy -- Literacy Style!

So if we haven’t given you enough Family Literacy Friday Fun Games, we thought we’d give you another!  This week we are going to take one of the Public Allies’ favorite childhood games, “I Spy”, and add in some literacy fun.


If you are not familiar with the game “I Spy” it is simply a game of clues and guessing.  For this literacy style version of “I Spy” we will start by having the parent be the person who “spies” the object.  While keeping the object a secret from the “guessers”, pick an object that is visible in the room.  Next, create a statement beginning with “I spy” followed by a characteristic of that object. For example if the object you “spied” was a banana, you might say “I spy something yellow.” Continue your “I Spy” statements until the “guessers” have guessed the object!


Now for our literacy twist to the game, we’re going to bring in some phonics.  For each new object, have the first “I spy” statement begin “I spy something that begins with the [insert sound of the first letter of the object] sound”.  For example, if the object you chose was a map, your first “I Spy” statement would be “I spy something that begins with the [m] sound” If you need a refresher on phonics, check out our previous blog post on Phonics Fun!  If your child does not guess the object after your first “I spy” statement, continue on with the game as we described above.  So if your object was a map, for example, after your first phonics statement, your next “I Spy” statement could be “I spy something that has many colors on it.” If the "I Spy" statements that follow the initial phonics "I Spy" statement, led the child to guess a object that does not begin with the [m] sound, you might want to remind them that the object has [m] sound. For example if the second clue "I spy something that has many colors on it" and your child says "Blanket!" you could ask them "Does Blanket begin with the [m] sound?"


If your child grasps on to this game quickly and you think they might want something a little more challenging, have your child “spy” something and practice their phonics!

For more “I Spy” fun, check out the “I Spy” books from Scholastic! *Available for rent at your local library :)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Give a Gold Star

A great way to get young children excited to read is by giving them an incentive. A wonderful way to do this is set up a fun and colorful chart in the child's room with a list of five or ten books. Whenever a book is read from start to end, have your little reader put a star next to the book. Make sure to get the whole family involved with this one, your teens who are reading much longer novels can have a chart in their rooms too, so that their younger sibling can see that reading is for everyone at any age! Now, every child is motivated by different things and since you know your kid or kid best, it will be up to you to figure out the perfect prize for wonderful reading. Maybe it will be stickers or maybe it will be that after reading seven books they will get a trip to the community pool, park or library. We would suggest to not have the prize be more time with the television, we do want them to eventually realize that reading alone is a reward!


If you want your child, students or other family members to be successful readers who are motivated to learn, make sure that those children know you are their biggest fan and that you won't give up on them. Once they know this they are sure to build their confidence. It's as simple as saying good job, or patiently helping them sound out a word, you are their reading cheerleader and will have more of an impact than you will ever know!


Happy Friday and have fun reading everybody!

Literacy-Rich Homes

One of the best ways to promote reading within your family is to create a literacy-rich environment at home. The University of Missouri wrote an article recently that has some suggestions for a “literacy-rich environment” that we thought would be really helpful and we’ve listed some below:


1) Create nametags! Buy index cards (or use little pieces of paper) and tape them to things your children use every day around the house. Remember to use lower case and upper case letter as appropriate.

2) Establish a “literacy center” in your house (whether that’s in a family office or next to the family computer) and stock it with pens, pencils, markers, paper, envelopes, greeting cards, stationary, stamps, a list of teacher’s and children’s names with photos, and maybe even a mailbox for each member of the family.



3) Be a role model! Write notes often, keep a calendar and/or daily planner, post a list of your child’s responsibilities and constantly introduce new vocabulary words (maybe even establish a “word of the day” and use it as many times as you can during the day).

4) Play word and language GAMES! Check Out our previous blog posts for some ideas :)

Happy Friday everyone and Have a great holiday weekend!

Spring into Silliness

There comes a point in time when your child will not just be learning to read but reading to learn. This week we wanted to focus on sentence structure in a really fun way to help with that transition. We're going to play Mad Libs, a sentence forming game where you make up how the story goes! This activity will include at least two people. Now let's get started with how to play! We have given you a worksheet below that has blank spaces for nouns, adjectives and other missing words. You will print out the worksheet and not show it to your child. You will go to each blank and ask your child to give you a word for that part of speech. Remember, don't read them the sentence because you want it so be a silly surprise when the worksheet is all filled out! Sometimes the sentences won't make sense but that's okay, its part of the game.


Just for a refresher here is the definition of the parts of speech:


Noun- person, place or thing (for example: dog, school, France)


Adjective- describes nouns and pronouns (for example: red, big, bouncy)


Verb- shows actions or state of being (for example: sing, run, gallop)









































For more Mab Lib silliness, check out: http://www.madglibs.com/

Phonics Fun!

This week we decided to get back to the basics! We thought spreading the word about the importance of phonics would be helpful in your family reading time. Not only should you be reading to your kids but they should be reading to you, as well! Learning phonics, or the sounds that letters make, isn't something that should be kept inside of the classroom walls, it should be practiced everyday everwhere when one is learning to read! But since it's rather difficult to explain phonics, we thought it would be helpful to show you all two videos that you can share with your children. Now, we know these video are a bit silly but if you're serious about helping your little ones learn to read, these videos can be a great tool!








Have a fun Friday everyone and happy reading!

ABC de Las Cosas

When I younger I lived in Puerto Rico and was on a traveling swim team. On the weekends we would go around the country to different competitions and while we waited for our event to start, we would all play “A,B, C de las cosas” which in English means “A,B,C’s of things”. For my team members and their parents this game always turned into quite a competition.


First you will need each player to have a piece of paper and a writing instrument. If you have have younger players pair them up with an adult, friend or sibling that can help them write! Each player needs to make a table with seven columns and at least two rows. Look at our table below for some suggestions on categories and be sure the write them on your table.


One of the players picks a letter from the alphabet and then the whole group begins with that letter. Depending on the age of the group, you can have from as little as one minute to as much as five. Not let’s begin! Say Juan picks the letter L. The whole group will need to find a name with letter L (for example Lillian), a last name with letter L (for example Lopez), a place with letter L (for example London), a thing with letter L (for example Lion), a food with letter L (for example Lasagna) and a Country or State with letter L (for example Louisiana). If you finish your whole row before the time runs out then you’ve done well! For each category that you fill with a word you get one point. If your word does not match the category or is spelled wrong, sorry but no points will be awarded! Next, everyone will use their six words and make a sentence. Don’t be scared to get silly with it…this is how our story reads: Lillian Lopez’s Lion lives in London where they eat Lasagna from Louisiana. That sentence is worth 6 points!


Brittany, Anna and myself wish you a weekend of wonderful, whimsical, wacky good times sharing wisdom with your family! Happy Friday Everyone!

A Read In The Park

When people think of reading to their children what comes to mind for many is bedtime stories. Now, bedtime stories are wonderful and we here at the Adult Literacy League are big fans of everyone reading to their children before bed, but you can read with your family and friends at any time of the day. So, this weekend we are challenging you to do just that! This can mean setting up a tent in the middle of the living room on Saturday morning, going into the backyard with a book or exploring Orlando for the perfect reading spot.

There are places in our very own city and neighborhoods that can provide a wonderful reading adventure and a great day out and about that are completely free. Local parks, playgrounds and other grassy areas provide a great space for a picnic and a book. If you live near downtown, Lake Eola is an awesome place for a reading excursion. If you are an Orange County Library member, the lake is conveniently located just blocks from the main library. If not, that’s okay! No matter which county you live in, there is a library that you can join for free.

Click here to find your local library with this Orange County Library System map.

Reading outside is an exciting opportunity for your children to be inspired by nature and the diverse community they live in.

This weekend, pack a picnic, a few great books and enjoy your family literacy time!

A List Made Fun!

This week, rather than teaching you a game or sharing a recipe, we thought we’d have fun with an activity that you already do anyway.


The trip to the grocery store is not always the most favorable experience, especially with young kids. But this trip can be turned into something fun! And the fun can begin even before you leave the house!


If your child is at a literacy level where he or she can write, together you can go through the pantry and refrigerator to name items that you need to purchase at the store. As you name each item, have your child write out the name of the item on a piece of paper. For example as if while you were scanning the refrigerator, you see you are running low on milk, say “MILK!” If your child isn’t certain how to spell milk, spell it out “M-I-L-K” and then repeat the word for them, “milk!” Even if you have to spell out the name of some or all of the items, this is still great practice putting a name to an item.


Now if your child is not at the level of writing quite yet, you both can still go through the pantry and refrigerator together to name items that you will need to purchase but you can focus on writing the shopping list. Before you leave the house though, have your child pick out their favorite color crayon and have them give the crayon to you, for now, for fun later!


Once you get to the store, bring out the crayon! You might want to advise him or her that is a special crayon. This crayon is now their “cross-out crayon” and, while in the grocery store, this crayon can only be used to write on this paper (you might want to show him or her the grocery list at this point).


Each time an item is placed in the cart have the child find the item on the list and have them cross-out the item with their crayon. It’s best to switch up the items on the list so that you’re not just going down the list. Most children will soon catch quite quickly and this will not be much of a literacy learning activity anymore. If the child is not sure how the name of the item you just placed in the cart is spelled, you have 2 options. One, you could spell out the item’s name and have your child match it the list. Or two, if the item has a label with its name on it, have the child match what’s on the label with what’s on the list.





You might be surprised how much your child will have doing this, especially if you get excited about it too! Before you know it your child will be asking you, when are we going shopping again?

Poetry In Motion

Children love to move around and be active so why not take full advantage of this fact and make it into a game that everyone can participate in. This week we’ve chosen an activity that incorporates lots of movement and lots of reading. The first step is to pick a fun poem; perhaps your child has a favorite one or maybe you do! If not you can always use a Shel Silverstien poem; his are always silly and will have everyone laughing.




After you choose your poem pick one person in the family to be the reader and one or two to be the actors or actresses. The reader will slowly read the poem aloud while the others act out each sentence. Make sure they not only act it out but they also use facial expressions to convey emotions! You can also gather props from around the room that can be used in the performances. Make sure that the adults get in on the fun and be sure to be supportive and always applaud for good reading or good acting!


Here is an example of a great poem that your family could use:


One Inch Tall by Shel Silverstein


If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school.
The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.
A crumb of cake would be a feast
And last you seven days at least,
A flea would be a frightening beast
If you were one inch tall.


If you were only one inch tall, you'd walk beneath the door,
And it would take about a month to get down to the store.
A bit of fluff would be your bed,
You'd swing upon a spider's thread,
And wear a thimble on your head
If you were one inch tall.


You'd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.
You couldn't hug your mama, you'd just have to hug her thumb.
You'd run from people's feet in fright,
To move a pen would take all night,


(This poem took fourteen years to write--
'Cause I'm just one inch tall).


I hope you enjoy this activity and have lots of laughs along the way!

A Recipe for Family Fun

There are many creative and interactive ways to read with your family and this week we are going to teach you one we love! In our last post we mentioned that you can find ways to read aloud that aren't just from a book, such as following a recipe together. This week, we've got a fun and creative recipe that will provide hours of good times for you and your family. However, this isn't your usual recipe. We won't be making dinner; instead we'll be making playdough! This recipe has been used by Brittany and her family for years. Brittany still speaks of the great memories she had making it with her sister and cousins growing up and now you'll have the same opportunity!

Start with the ingredients. Depending on your child's age, you can have the child read the items you need aloud while another person gets them. From there, take turns reading the steps in the recipe, this will ensure everyone is reading and cooking together!

Ingredients:
1 Cup flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Cup water
1/2 Cup iodized salt
2 Tsp cream of tartar (optional)
1 package of Koolaid [this gives the playdough its color and a great scent!]

*All above ingredients are non-toxic*

Directions:
1) Mix all ingredients together in a pot and cook over medium heat.
2) Stir often, until thick (about four minutes).
3) Remove from pot and work the dough with your hands while warm until the color is even. Be sure to do this on a clean, hard surface (like a counter or kitchen table) with good supervision.
4) Mold, Create, and Design however you'd like.
5) Store in a sealed bag or airtight container for more fun later. Or leave your creation out to dry so you can keep it forever!

Be sure to take lots of pictures and share with your friends and family.

Happy Friday everyone and happy reading!

Reading Aloud As A Family

Before you read.You might be nervous to read with your kids and that’s understandable. Maybe it will be helpful for you to read the book out loud to yourself before you have an audience. That way you can practice your delivery and tone of voice.


What you choose to read.Kids are smart and they’ll know if a book bores you, so make sure to select a book you both will enjoy and one that is fun to read out loud. Or better yet, have your kids pick the book out themselves. Also remember, words are everywhere, not just in books! If you’re in the kitchen cooking, read the recipe aloud, or while your eating cereal in the morning, read the box with them!


Make family reading time a fun time.
Turn off the lights and turn on a lamp. Maybe even put on your favorite pajamas or silly socks and get cozy. Reading at home is your classroom family time.


The end... now lets talk!
You don’t have to ask specific questions about what you just read but it is helpful to have a conversation. Tell your child what you liked about the story and what made you laugh and then see what they enjoyed the most.


Get them excited for the next story.
After you finish reading, tell them "More to come tomorrow!" and make sure keep your word!


I hope these simple tips make their way into your daily readings! While at it you can even start building a family library by shopping at garage sales or trading books with friends. Or instead of getting candy for doing good on a test or behaving well that week, treat them to a new book! The more you surround your family with literature the more comfortable they’ll feel reading on their own.


Happy reading and have a great weekend!