This could be the perfect literacy game. So simple and so brilliant. It has all the elements you could want in a game that encourages reading: it’s fun, it offers an immediate reward for reading, it’s easy for parents to quickly learn and set up and it has lots of […]
Tag: five-minute ideas
langman: great Internet game that encourages wordpower
Here at GKR we’re always looking for cool literacy games. Cool + literacy? Not the easiest combo. Nevertheless, we’ve found you one. This game is retro, so you know it’s cool. (For future reference: if it looks like something we would have played in the 70s, it’s cool. Just so ya know.) […]
One-sentence journal is perfect for kids
I guess the idea of a one-sentence journal isn’t new. But I’d never heard of it before I read about it on Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project blog. She started a one-sentence journal because she wanted to jot down happy memories but knows she could never sustain keeping a normal journal […]
Children’s book apps for your cell phone
Children’s book publishers are creating cell phone apps for books like The Velveteen Rabbit and The Cat in the Hat. Kids can read the book on their parent’s phone and enjoy some interactive features. For instance, they can touch a word they don’t know and hear it or touch the picture […]
Brilliant animal video by the BBC
This has nothing to do with literacy. Well, unless there’s something called “animal literacy” (which there’s not). But some things just have to be shared. Stick with it past the Michael Jackson bit – it gets really good.
Brain game: Connections
Here’s a fun game we were playing at the dinner table recently. It’s called “Connections,” and it’s great to help with creativity and get the blood flowing to the ol’ brain cells – not just for your kids but for you, too. You start. You name two objects that seemingly […]
No time for literacy activities? Harness the power of two
If you aren’t able to find time to read to your child or offer him literacy activities—use the power of two—you and another parent. You know that kids who are read to every day are more likely to develop a love of reading. But that’s 15 minutes that tends to […]
Valentine’s Day literacy activities
Use Valentine’s Day as an excuse to do some fun literacy activities.
Valentine’s Day literacy activities
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1. Think of words that rhyme and write a poem for a loved one.
2. Create personalized Valentine’s Day cards and write each other loving messages. Cut out words and letters from magazines to make them extra unique.
3. Bake Valentine’s Day cupcakes and use candy heart notes or icing to write a sweet message.
4. Play a “Valentine’s Day edition” game of Scrabble® and score double points when you spell a word about love.
5. Show yours kids you love them by reading a love-themed book together, like Clifford’s Valentine’s Day.
6. Research the meaning behind Valentine’s Day.
Holidays provide a great opportunity to incorporate creativity and imagination with fun literacy-related activities to be enjoyed individually or as a family. Benefit from literacy by spending 15 minutes a day reading, writing, playing a game or following a recipe.
Remarkable research on kids’ ability to self-instruct
Here’s why we say you should “scatter books around the house.”
I want you to watch this exciting speech by Sugata Mitra on TED.com that illustrates the extent to which kids can teach themselves.
Through his “Hole in the Wall” project he conducted a series of experiments in 1999.