Fun Valentine’s cards inspired by the book Gabby.
1-hour ideas
Fun, active (and profitable!) literacy game
Sometimes literacy costs.
A book full of book bites
If you’re looking for an activity that will get your kid writing, Breakfast on a Dragon’s Tail, by Martin Springett, is a new and interesting concept book. Dragon’s Tail gives you the beginning of a story, and your kid writes the rest. There are 13 book bites in all, each one an […]
Help your child understand what he’s reading
Photo by Dan Smith, Wikimedia Commons I was talking to a mom today about a child who is having some trouble with reading comprehension. In other words, he reads a paragraph and has trouble understanding and summarizing what he’s just read. He also isn’t reading a lot—possibly he doesn’t enjoy […]
Get your kid excited about the news
Every week, I do a half-hour presentation at my son’s school on “the news.” It’s often the best half-hour of my week. And a lot of the kids – and the parents – tell me they look forward to the class. What I do is pretty simple; you can do […]
“Got caught reading, I did!”
If you’re trying to encourage your child to read more, surround her with good examples. Read, yourself, especially when she’s around to see you setting a good example. And here’s another good thing to do. Go to Get Caught Reading and print off one of their celebrity posters. You can […]
Fun new, brain-challenging jigsaw puzzle
They’ve finally come up with a new, addictive, fun and brain-saving type of jigsaw puzzle that kids will actually enjoy. It’s difficult – if not downright impossible – to explain exactly how Ji Ga Zo works. You have to try it for yourself, and you’ll understand. (Which is why I […]
Current events
I’ve been doing current events at my son’s school. I approached my son’s teacher a few weeks ago, and proposed a weekly, half-hour current events discussion for the grade 3 / 4 class. My son’s teacher is very cool, and progressive and totally supported the idea. He also helped to […]
School-wide literacy ideas
Most of these ideas can be used in your home.(Or suggest them to your principal). Here are some great, inexpensive literacy ideas for teachers from the blog, Choice Literacy. Currently Reading posters on lockersKids post a notice on their locker that says what they’re currently reading, and features a colour […]
PICTOCHAT Hide and Seek
My son and his friend invented a new game. And it just happens to have a literacy component. Even better, it uses the Nintendo DS (Gameboy), so for kids who are really into video games, this can be a good alternative. The game: PICTOCHAT Hide-and-Seek Each child takes his DS […]
