Color Book

Source: havingfunathomeblog.blogspot.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Book Club Tips and Ideas

Summer is coming to a close soon but the book club ideas are for anytime.  Visit Dinner: A Love Story for some good ideas, tips and tricks for getting your little ones to read and share.

Word Ending Block Game

The Crafty Classroom has this idea for a great homeschool tool and it would be great in the classroom as well.

Reading Logs aren't just for summer

Simple As That has a beautiful example and free printables for a reading log.

This beautiful reading log could be used year round.

Reading Journals

If you haven't read "The Book Whisper" by Donalyn Miller and you are a teacher or home-school mom then you should.  These beautiful journals were posted by The Apple Basket Teacher and made after  having been inspired by the book.

Book journals are a great way for a reader to incorporate writing and to have them learn to write reflections of what they have read.  They journal in what they liked and didn't like and even how it may have affected them as readers.  Then, when they need to recommend a book or are asked about a book they read, the reader has a reference of their initial thoughts and feelings.   Sharing a great way to inspire others to read as well.

Read Aloud Ideas from Others

The Pioneer Woman posted a question on her HomeSchool blog about Read-Aloud ideas and the response was huge.  Check it out here.

Book Party Idea

I'm read to host a book party for my boys and their friends.  Here is an example of a Book Baby Shower. over at Erin Ever After.  I love her book mark, I must say!

Author Inspired Birthday Party

Check out this Pottery Barn party inspired by one of my favorite author/illustrators Eric Carle.

Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School

Ohdeedoh featured David Mackintosh's new book.

As a book it’s pretty fantastic, thick high-quality pages, bold colors, quirky illustrations and a great moral message. But it’s the subtle details that wink at things like ingenuity, food, hospitality, kindness, and even home design that really won me over.   Ben Partridge

Head over to Ohdeedoh to read the full review.

National Reading Month Read Along Follow-Up

Now that National Reading Month has come to a close, here a is a great  Read-Along that you can check out to continue reading all year long.  Reading like this shouldn't happen one month a year, it should happen everyday, all year long.  Check out these amazing ideas and books that have been shared.

Polly at Helping Little Hands  has a huge collage of reading activities that you can choose from for sharing books with your little one.

5 Elements of Fiction

I was working on some interview questions today and decided to look up this video on the website called www.flocabulary.com and I had to share what I found...enjoy!


Flocabulary - Five Things (Elements of a Short Story) from Flocabulary on Vimeo.

Here are the lyrics Flocabulary

Five Things Lyrics

Check it out yo...

Setting, that's like where it's going down,
Could be the train compartment, a castle or a town,
Could be the Arctic winter - like To Build a Fire
The temperature's dropping, excitement is getting higher,
Setting sets the scene so the scene seems set,
Could be the Italian restaurant where we met,
Setting gives us the where and the when,
Could be modern day, the future, or way back when.

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,
Setting, yes these are the 5 things
That you're going to be needing
When you're reading or writing
A short story that's mad exciting x2

Plot is the action, the quest for satisfaction,
What's going down, what's going to happen.
Four men at sea in an open boat,
Rowing and hoping that they can stay afloat. The plot:
They have to make it to the beach,
But the waves are big, and the shore seems out of reach,
Plot is a series of events... like Lemoney Snicket,
It could be crazy, wild or straight wicked.

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,
Setting, yes these are the 5 things
That you're going to be needing
When you're reading or writing
A short story that's mad exciting x2

Knock knock, who's there? Oh, it's the characters,
The people in the story who carry out the action.
Characters can be pretty, tiny or clean,
Characters can be silly, whiney or mean,
Juliet is a character, and so is Romeo,
Pokemon has characters and so does Yu-gi-oh,
Characters could be dogs, lions, or hippos,
JK Rowling chose Harry Potter. "Why?" Who knows!

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,
Setting, yes these are the 5 things
That you're going to be needing
When you're reading or writing
A short story that's mad exciting x2

Uh-uh! Put your snack back in your backpack we're not finished!
Something gone wrong! That's the conflict kids
A struggle in the plot, now who's on top,
Could be a fight for money, like some robbers and cops,
Could be an internal conflict - a struggle inside,
Like I don't want to tell the truth but I don't ever want to lie,
Flick something in your eye, now you're conflicted,
What created drama? The conflict did.

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,
Setting, yes these are the 5 things
That you're going to be needing
When you're reading or writing
A short story that's mad exciting x2

The theme of the story is the main idea,
The central belief or the topic that's in there,
It's usually something abstract like sacrifice,
Isolation or resurrection: we're back to life,
Like don't lie, don't practice libel,
The theme of To Build a Fire is survival,
Survival on your own like Fievel Moskowitz
Flocabulary's something that you HAVE TO GET...

Plot, Character, Conflict, Theme,
Setting, yes these are the 5 things
That you're going to be needing
When you're reading or writing
A short story that's mad exciting x2

Technology and Literacy

The other day while I was at my sons playschool, I asked the director if I could give business cards out for On The Lap and explained that On The Lap was a website that was dedicated to helping parents promote literacy at home.  Her first question was "Does it have hands on activities or is it just online games?"   I then explained further about what On The Lap really was and it sounded great to her. (I hope it does to you too).

Then I started thinking about how important it really is for kids to have hands on activities when it concerns literacy or any other area of learning.  However, in the last few years, I have discovered that literacy is becoming more and more digital and by the time our children are grown; sadly, there may not be any "actual" books being read.  Even now, most of the popular texts can be downloaded or read using a computer, ipad, iphone, etc. 

Even my own children use technology to enhance their literacy through devices such as Poingo.  In the above pictures, you can see my youngest son  (3 years old) enjoying a book with his Poingo pin.  He went from using it on one book, to multiple books, then from in the floor, to his chair and table.   I tried my best to take pictures of him without disturbing his fun.  So, you can see that he is thoroughly engrossed in the books at hand.  

With this in mind, we have to find a balance for our children.  It is important to share with them the value of reading a book and holding it their hands while introducing them to the future of books.  I initially was not a fan of Kindle readers when they first came out.  Then, I realized how absolutely cool it was to carry such a small device and have my library with me at all times.  Isn't everything in life truly about balance anyway?   

I don't know about you but, all of my children's books are going to be kept safe for the "future".

Repeated Readings & Literacy Environments

When your child gets older, it will become more important for him/her to perform repeated readings.  Repeated readings increase a child's fluency, increases their speed and accuracy, and their comprehension of the text.  When your child enters school you should see or hear of situations in which your child is asked to read a text several times either alone, with you or with a class partner.  

Not only can you expect your child to perform repeated readings at school, but your child expects you to perform them at home.  From an early age children need to hear stories in books over and over.  It builds their awareness of what it "sounds" like to read aloud, increases word knowledge/vocabulary and their comprehension of the text being read to them.  Repeated readings at home with young children help them also build a relationship to books and stories.  In the article found here, on the importance of broadening your child's repertoire, you will discover that it is not only important to read to them books you think are important or ones they like but also, it's important to introduce your child to books they may never have chosen on their own.  Therefore, it is important to perform repeating readings for your child with those books as well.

At our home, books are made easily accessible for night time reading.

A good way to keep repeated readings simple is to have a designated area to keep books that you would like to repeatedly read to your child for a short time.  Below is an example in my child's room where I keep the books "we" are reading for the week.  These same books are read to them nightly for a period of time and then, they are changed the next week or changed if my children are simply "tired" of a particular book.  If you are just beginning to build your child's library this is a great way to keep things interesting with only a few books.  

What about that ONE book that your little insists on being read over and over...keep reading it.  No matter how sick of it you are, you are encouraging their love for reading and it will spread over into other areas of their literacy.  Simply make an effort to introduce a new book with the favorite your child loves. 

If you have any questions about Repeated Readings please ask us, we'll be glad to assist you.   Now, go read to your child.

Printable Bookplates

Emily over at The Black Apple has posted these absolutely adorable bookplates.  I can't believe all the cuteness on the internet when it comes to bookplates.  You are going to love Emily's blog.  Visit her here and check out all her amazing works of art.

Learn Colors with a Pocket Book

Expect Moore shows how to make this adorable book so that your little one can sort colors using colored shapes and color words.  Too cute not to share this one!

What's Your Favorite Book to Read Aloud at Bedtime?

I have 3 little boys and a few years ago when my youngest was a baby, my mother gave me this book "You're All My Favorites" and 3 little bears that to me, represent each of my baby boys.  I love reading this book aloud to them.  A few of my other favorites are, "The Napping House" because I love to hear my children giggle before bed but I'm very sentimental so I also love reading "Time For Bed" because it was the first book my husband and I read to our little boys before they were even born.  My mother gave me "Love You Forever" to make me cry but I've heard Robert Munsch tell his version and it can be down right funny to read as well.  "Guess How Much I Love You" to me is a tongue twister in it's own right.  It's a simple story line with beautiful illustrations.   

The Napping House by Audry Wood

Time for Bed by Mem Fox

Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

What is your favorite read aloud books at bedtime?

Appropriate Reading For Your Child's Reading Level NOT Grade Level

Do you ever visit your local library with your school age child and wonder which books are appropriate reading levels?  I know I do.  Let's set aside what grade your child is in.  Grade level truly has nothing to do with your child's reading level or potential.  What you need to know in order to help your child grow in his or her reading skills is the instructional level at which your child reads.  This is the level which your child reads with help.  Do not leave your child to read alone at his or her instructional level.  Anything above instructional level should not be attempted at all.  The second thing you need to know, is your child's independent reading level.  This is the level at which your child should read alone, for the enjoyment of reading and for practice.  Reading on an independent level is the most important level of reading for your child.  Reading on this level builds confidence, fluency and word knowledge.

Free Printable Book Tags

Check out these Free Printable Book Tags by Laura Gunn

Just print and paste into your books.

Pinwale Alphabet

Anthropologie has the sweetest alphabet letters.   You don't have to own them all, just the important ones.  

Mother Daughter Book Club

I loved this idea of a mother/daughter book club.  Read about this little adventure between a mother and daughter.  I wonder if it'd work between mother and son.   Craft Nectar is a really sweet blog and you are sure to love this idea.