The holiday season looks a little different this year. After a long stay-at-home order earlier this year, the thought of another extended time at home can seem daunting. Here are 5 fun ideas to use this time as a way to boost family literacy and bonding.
1. Turn off the TV and have an old fashioned cozy family read aloud night.
The end of a long day, the lights dim, and family gathered in various spots around the living room, some on the couch, others on the floor, one laying on their back with their feet propped on a chair. Coziness reigns as the family listens, caught in the spell of the shared story. We are reading Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls out loud. My voice catches as I struggle to get through the heart-wrenching scene at the end. I eventually have to pass the book off, because I am crying too hard to read. I am continually amazed at how much power there is in the magic of a shared story read aloud as a family or one-on-one with a child...
Pull out an old favorite picture or chapter book, pop some popcorn, turn off the tv and devices, and enjoy reading aloud one-on-one or as a whole family. ( If reading aloud is difficult, consider listening to an audiobook together. The library has digital downloads in Overdrive, Libby, and Hoopla on the library website. ) Just the other day, we pulled out copies of the series Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park and Hank the Cow Dog by John R. Erickson and were wiping away tears, this time because we were laughing so hard. It felt awesome to laugh together, good therapy for this year!
2. Host a virtual family book club
Take your read aloud one step farther and host a family book club. Decide which chapter book or picture book you want to read and invite another family or friend to read it as well. Choose a day and plan some fun activities that go with the book. Some ideas could be to dress up as the book character, have a game that relates to the theme of the book, and fun snacks.
When my children were little we had a family book club. We all read the Tale of Despereaux by Kate Di Camillo. At that time we could meet together, so we gathered at our house. My husband arranged our hay bales in a maze and we had a fun scavenger hunt through the bales. (The mouse in the book had to find his way through a maze-like dungeon). Our teenagers and teenagers from the other families still remember it. One summer, the library hosted a family book club based on Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. Each family had a month to read the book, then gathered at the library for an evening of fun related activities. Families commented on how much they enjoyed reading aloud together and connecting with other families in the community.
Another time when my daughters were older we were a part of a Mother/Daughter book club, inspired by the Mother-Daughter book club series by Heather Vogel Frederick. Each girl was able to choose a book to discuss for the month. All of these can be held virtually until restrictions allow for gathering again. Theme related "Minute to win it" activities are great activities to add to book clubs and can also be done virtually. Sharing photos of your activities is a fun way to connect.
photo credit: Cayleen Blackmore
3. Retell a Story with Puppets
We have talked before about the power of puppets. Puppets don't have to be complicated, even homemade sock puppets can be easy and fun to use. In some of our virtual storytimes this month we did shadow puppets. We found this great template by www.adventure-in-a-box.com. This can be easily done with a white sheet of paper and a flashlight. The internet has some great templates to make your own puppets. Hand shadows are also fun to use to retell a story. Retelling stories is an awesome way to boost reading comprehension and memory skills by remembering the sequences of stories.
4. Book Character Snow Sculptures
Another fun wintery way to bring literacy alive is to make snow sculptures of book characters. As a child living in central Alberta, there was never a shortage of snow. I have a vivid memory of a visit from a family friend who was an artist. One day she and I went out and made a snow sculpture of a lion. In my mind, it was connected to Aslan from the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
In the picture book Bedtime for Bear by Brett Helquist, the animal characters create snow sculptures of themselves. (you can watch a Traveling Librarian video with this book) If you want to go one step further you can even paint your snow sculptures! All you need is food coloring, empty spray bottles, and cold water. Fill your spray bottle with water, add quite a few drops of food coloring, build your snow sculpture, and color it by spraying the colored water on it. If the weather is too cold, this can also be done with play dough, molding clay, or even food!
5. Book themed scavenger hunts
Literacy is more than just reading books. Reading is necessary for so many life skills. A scavenger hunt is a great way for kids to connect reading and following directions. In 2 of our recent virtual storytimes, we gave the children 2 different theme related scavenger hunts. One was with a map theme. After reading a story, the scavenger hunt sent them all over town to take photos by certain landmarks.
The other scavenger hunt was a gingerbread man themed activity. Jan Brett's Gingerbread Baby is a fun book to go along with this. We used this cute scavenger hunt from www.sunnydayfamily.com. The clues led them all over the house to find the "escaped" gingerbread man. Making gingerbread cookies, even just from a package from the grocery store can also boost literacy and life skills by reading and following directions.
photo credit: Cayleen Blackmore
Older kids can also have a great time with photo scavenger hunts. As a group or by teams, make a list of items that go along with your chosen book or story, and each team must try to find and take a photo of all of the items on the list. Have a prize for the winners or a participation prize for everyone. Older kids can make them up for younger kids, or just for themselves or a virtual group of friends.
Having a read-aloud night, hosting a virtual book club, retelling stories with puppets, creating book character snow sculptures, and book-related scavenger hunts are 5 ways to enjoy literacy in your home. A little creativity can go a long way in boosting literacy skills. Sometimes all it takes is turning off devices, opening a book, and going on an adventure together. Who knows where it will take you?
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