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!

Bug Eating & The Adult Literacy League.. What?

Afraid to try something new with your student?... Don’t be!  Branch out... Experiment!

Instructor Vince and I are getting ready to eat some bugs!

You don’t have to snack on crickets together to be adventurous. It can be as easy and simple as bringing coupons from Sunday’s paper to get a conversation started.  For those of you working with ESOL students, coupons may be something completely foreign to our students – you can discuss the vocabulary (doubling/double coupons, sale, discount…the possibilities are endless).  You can talk about when and how to use coupons like during a transaction at the supermarket when you present them to the cashier, this sort of thing.

For those of you working with ABE students, you could turn a session with coupons into a simple math lesson.  Talk about the importance of budgeting and staying within your budget – essential concepts that our students may not have experience with.  Let your student be your guide.  Don’t feel “married to” your curriculum; encourage your student to identify a goal and help them put that goal on paper and then you can work together towards that goal. 

Just don’t be afraid to try something new!

He's only acting like he doesn't enjoy it.

See? He loves it!

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!

A,B,C, Make a Story With Me

When I was younger my friends and I used to play The A-to-Z Game. We would play it while walking to soccer practice, in the car with our families and even at the dinner table. What exactly is this game? How do you play it? I’ll tell you how! First step is, pick a topic. The topic could be anything from food, names, movies, things you bring on a camping trip to book titles. Once you have your topic that best suits your family or friends, you start with the letter A and take turns. Let’s use the example of things you might bring on a camping trip. The first person will think of an item that begins with the letter A, perhaps they’ll say apple, then the next player will take the letter B and perhaps they’ll say bug spray.


Now you’re off to a great start! If you can make it all the way to Z, pick a new topic and start again. As the players become more comfortable, the game may become easier. At this point you can start to add rules such as only giving them 10 seconds to respond. You can also call a “Time Out!” if you think a player said a word that doesn’t fit in with the topic. For example, the topic could be a day at the beach, and the player with the letter M says Monkey! If you think that doesn’t fit, yell “Time Out!” and ask that player to explain how a monkey could be found at the beach. If that player gives you an answer that supports their word, then move on! But if they can’t give an explanation then they will have to re-think their answer and respond again! If they can’t think of one, the letter gets passed to the next player.


So next time you’re in the car with your family, or walking to the park, try to see if you can get from A-to-Z!

Orlando's Preschool Ambassadors

Anna, Brittany, and Lillian’s favorite league, the Adult Literacy League, has teamed up with the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County in the creation of Preschool Ambassadors, one of the six initiatives within Mayor Buddy Dyer’s Orlando Cares citywide service plan. According to the National Institute for Literacy, literacy really begins during infancy with an infant’s exposure to words, speech, sounds, and print. Furthermore, the Institute also states that one key predictor of future success in school is a child’s preschool performance. Preschool Ambassadors was created with this in mind and specifically for the purpose of increasing the literacy proficiency of preschoolers within Orlando. One outcome of Preschool Ambassadors will be to have families spend at least 2 hours a week reading together. How do we plan to accomplish this you ask? Well this is where our favorite League comes in!


If you haven’t heard yet the Adult Literacy League already has a great family literacy program called Read to Me! This year-long program provides qualifying families with a brand-new book and materials for a corresponding activity, both at no cost to the family. All the families need to do is return the blue evaluation sheet included in the package and then another book will be sent to the family or brought to the preschool. The family has to have a child who is between the ages of 3 and 5. For more information about this program or how you can become involved in the Read to Me! program, check out: http://www.adultliteracyleague.org/about/famliteracy.html


So where do Anna, Brittany, and Lillian fit into this plan? Every Friday we’re going to post an article on the Adult Literacy League blog that we will so lovingly refer to as our “Family Literacy Friday” post. The articles posted will be written by the three of us and will include articles about literacy games, a potential “wacky word of the week”, literacy tips/tricks to practice, and other ideas that will make reading and improving literacy more fun for parents, children, and essentially the whole family!


Check back every Friday to see what we have store in for you and have a Happy Friday!

COMPLETED Volunteer Opportunity: Holiday Cleanup

What: Holiday Cleanup in the Office

Type: Office/Admin
When: January 4, 2012 - ??? | 8:30am - ???

Where: Adult Literacy League, 345 W. Michigan St., #100, Orlando, FL 32806

Happy New Year! All of our holiday festivities are over and it's time to start packing up the decorations. We are hoping for a little bit of help taking down all our holiday hangings.

We have a 6 foot tree (beautiful decorated by volunteers) that needs to be "de-ornamented" as well as holiday-around-the-world decorations that need to be packed up. Want to help us get right on track with the new year?

The dates and times for this opportunity are very flexible. We'll work with your schedule!

Email Zach Lynn if you'd like to be involved!

Or leave us a comment!