Leap into Literacy
Snuggle Up and Read!!
Include reading in your family’s New Year’s resolutions
The new year offers an opportunity to think about the past and set goals for the future. This includes family reading goals! Take time with your child to talk about books or stories you’ve enjoyed in the past year. If the books are nearby, look through them together. Have your child choose her three favorites. Ask, “What was the best part of this story? Why?” Or, “What is your favorite picture in this book?” Discuss future reading plans. Are there ways you can refresh or improve your reading habits? Could you read more often? Could you read new things together, such as children’s magazines? Build daily reading time into your family’s schedule. Make 2021 your family’s best year ever for reading new and exciting materials! Suggest that your child keep a list of all the books that she reads. She should include the title of each book and its author. She can also create a rating system with numbers or smiley faces. Encourage her to write a short review of each book as well. Offer your child sentence starters to help with her reviews, such as: • I liked this book because … . • My favorite part of this story was … . • I wish the author would have … . Help your child compile all of these reviews into a “Book Review” notebook. Keeping track of completed books will give your child a sense of accomplishment. It will also help her remember which books she liked—which will give her suggestions of what books to read next!
Fire Side Stories
- Fire Side Stories – Winter is the perfect time to curl up in front of the fire! Why not schedule an evening of fireside reading for the whole family? Each member can bring their own book and read individually or take turns reading aloud from the same book. If you need a little motivation to encourage participation, serve hot cocoa and popcorn to all the attendees!
- Snow Spelling – Take advantage of the latest snowfall in your community and have an outdoor spelling lesson. Kids love to play in the snow, so find a stick (or a spray bottle with water and food coloring) and let your little one practice his ABC’s and sight words in the freshly fallen snow!
- Winter Themed Books – There are a slew of good winter themed books to be read this season. Check out these favorites from Buggy and Buddy!
- Writing Prompts – If your little one is a bit stir crazy from being cooped up inside, try a bit of creative writing. Gather your writing paper and pencils and have your children write a short paragraph or story. Take a look at these 25 winter writing prompts from Rachel K. Tutoring to get the kids started.
- Winter Acrostic Poem – Creating acrostics is a great literary activity for younger children. Simply write the word winter vertically down a page and have your child use each letter to begin a word that relates to the winter season. Visit Printable Treats for a template.
- Snow Writing Tray – Create a little spelling magic with a snow themed sensory writing tray. These are super easy to put together – you probably already have the necessary items in your home. Visit The Imagination Tree for assembly instructions.
- Family Game Night –You may not realize it, but many board games promote literacy. So if the cold weather has your brood stuck indoors, organize a family game night. Games such as Bananagrams, Scrabble, and Boggle are classic games that sharpen spelling skills. Other less obvious board games foster literacy skills by having participants read game cards, write answers, and describe items.
- Winter Word Search – You probably know Scholastic for its great children’s books – they also have a really cool website with excellent resources. We found this wonderful winter word search on the Scholastic site and think it will make for a fun activity for the kiddos in your home.
If the winter doldrums have hit your home, perk up the season with one of these fun literacy activities!
Bonnie Villarreal
Reading Coach
Email: villarreal_b@utpb.edu
Website: https://utpbstemacademy.org/
Phone: 432-552-2580