Winter Literacy
Get Warm and Cozy with a Winter Read
Happy New Year!!
Happy New Year! I would like to extend best wishes to all families for a happy and healthy new year. It’s a pleasure to see all of the children, teachers and staff back at school after a long, well deserved break.
Make reading a New Year's resolution for your children with this fun reading resolutions list!
Include reading in your family’s New Year’s resolutions
At Home Letter Hunt Activities
- We’re going on a Letter Hunt- Using magazines, go on a scavenger hunt looking for letters. Find a letter, cut it out, and glue it to a piece of paper or poster board. Challenge your child to tell you the name of the letter, the sound, or something that starts with that letter.
- Letter sort with sticky notes-Write individual letters of the alphabet on sticky notes and place them all around the house. Here are some fun things you can do with those letters:
Find a letter that is in your name.
Find a vowel.
Find the letter that your favorite food starts with.
Find the letter C, M, S, A, Z, etc.
Find a letter that is in your brother/sister’s name.
- Write letters in shaving cream
Optional Books for Activity:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.
Eating the Alphabet: Fruit and Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker
Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingman
Alphabet Mystery by Audrey Wood
Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth
There was an old lady who swallowed the alphabet by Beth Taylor
Shiver me letters: A Pirate ABC by June Sobel
Digital Read Alouds:
Shiver me letters: A Pirate ABC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGp6NVXNvnA
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdrTXRD090U
Eating the Alphabet
Please Return Library Books
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 Specialist
Email: bonnie.villarreal@ectorcountyisd.org
Website: https://www.ectorcountyisd.org/Domain/2592
Phone: (432) 552-2580