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!

Guest Blog: A Pledge of Allegiance

A class uses flash cards to review questions for the citizenship exam.

Students prepare by using
this study guide.

  

GINA SOLOMON

 ALL Adult Education Director

Last week, I was invited to attend the citizenship swearing in ceremony at the Federal Courthouse in Downtown Orlando. My ESOL student, Yency, was finally seeing her hard work and dedication pay off as she was sworn in as a new U.S. citizen. I remember meeting Yency five years ago, when she came to ALL to get help with her English language skills. She came from El Salvador and had been living in the U.S. for several years already.  When we met, Yency was a shy but sweet young woman who was eager to learn English so that she could fully embrace her American Dream. Yency has 2 children of her own who were born here in the U.S.  Approximately 4 years ago, she became guardian of her 3 youngest siblings—a role she accepted wholeheartedly after her mom passed away in El Salvador.

Fast forward to present day … and imagine my pleasure (and surprise) when Yency walked into the League to drop off brochures from the immigration attorney for whom she is now employed. She was bubbly and confident and speaking English BEAUTIFULLY!  I was so excited for her and wanted to celebrate her successful journey, so naturally, I accepted her invitation to attend her swearing in ceremony. What an honor it would be to share this day with her!

I have been to one previous “swearing in ceremony” at the Immigration Services Office and it was beautiful. However, Yency’s ceremony, held at the Federal Courthouse with the Honorable Karla Spaulding presiding, was unforgettable.  I brought my 5-year old son with me so that he could learn a little bit about how special it is to be born an American and the sacrifices that other people make just to become U.S. citizens. While we were waiting on the bench outside the courtroom, I noticed a pretty blonde woman staring at me. It finally dawned on me that this lady was ALSO an ALL student, Maritza, whom I hadn’t seen in over a year. She, too, was being sworn in as a U.S. citizen!

I wrote down the countries of birth for the roughly 50 new Americans as they were read aloud by Judge Spaulding: Albania, Belarus, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Haiti, Hungary, India, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Montserrat, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.

ALL instructor Vince Scalise works with
volunteers during a citizenship workshop.

 It was like music to my ears to listen to all of the different voices and accents reciting the Pledge of Allegiance after being sworn in.  It made me think about all of the students here at ALL, who speak over 20 different languages and come from 55 different countries. Most of them have similar dreams like Yency and Maritiza; they come to the U.S. to provide a better way of life for themselves and their children. So far this year, we’ve had 17 students become U.S. citizens thanks to the help of our dedicated volunteer tutors and the very popular ESOL instructor, Vince Scalise, who teaches citizenship classes twice a week. Students enrolled in Vince’s class have a 100% passing rate on their citizenship exam. The national average is about 94%. 

I think my favorite part of Yency’s swearing in ceremony was when Judge Spaulding appealed to all of the new citizens and asked that they not lose their native cultures. Judge Spaulding encouraged the new citizens to embrace their languages and traditions and to proudly share them with other Americans. As we prepare to celebrate America’s birthday on July 4^th, let us not forget that it is our willingness to understand one another -by respecting and celebrating our differences- that makes our country so great.