Things To Do With Dad

By Chris Stevens
This book is brimming full with fun activities to do with Dad -- building forts, making tee shirts, creating carnival games, cooking up spooky food, holding a bad spelling bee. Full instructions for plenty of things to do, inside or outside, when the family is bored.

Also read: Things to Do With Mom by Alison Mahoney.

Cozy, Comfy, Winter Reading Activities

This is the time of year that both parents and children feel trapped inside. Take advantage of more "together time" by participating in fun activities that also build pre-reading skills. A colorful quilt or tablecloth on the family room floor is a bright backdrop to set up an afternoon tea or luncheon. Make menu cards that have simple pictures and words (bread, apple, milk, purple jelly, cup.) Discuss the order in which your sandwiches were assembled and what your favorite meals are you have shared. Have your child help you make up a story about a fictional character (dog, princess, pirate, fireman) that has a funny experience while having lunch.

In an hour's time or less, you have worked on word identification, sequencing, narrative skills, and creative thinking. When you are done -- read a short story that involves food and then wrap up in the blanket and take a cozy nap.

Having fun? Stop at the library and check out our new Play n' Learn Spot.

Fall Into Good Reading Habits With Babies and Toddlers

It always feels like Fall should really be the start of a new year. We slowly come out of our slump from the lazy days of summer play and feel energized by the crisp cool air. The stores full of bright new crayons and empty notebooks make all of us want to learn something new. What a great time to start new reading habits for the months to come. Make a Fall commitment to pick three times during the day that you can read or tell a story to your children.

• Is breakfast hectic? Maybe while they are dawdling you can tease them with a story plot of a familiar book -- and promise to read it before bed.
• Pack a few books for the park. Have a story and a snack before heading home.
• Plan your trip to the library when you plan other outings. That way before and after you visit the pumpkin patch or apple orchard you can share some good tales that will start up lots of discussion about the event.
• Pick a good series of books for bathtime -- the anticipation will be high and there will be no more bathtime fussing.

Now is also a great time to take advantage of cozy pj storytimes and new programs starting at the library. They might even let you play with those new crayons!

You're Never Too Young To Join Our Summer Reading Club

Babies and Toddlers are welcome to "Get In The Game: READ" during summer reading at the library. All "prereaders" will join the Training Camp All-Stars, a speical team for children whose families will read aloud to them.

We have summer storytimes for toddlers, and lapsits scheduled for birth through 35 months.
We also have reading lists available, and plenty of staff to help you pick out board books or beginning stories.

Registration for "Get In The Game: Read" kicks off Monday, June 9, at 6:30 pm with a visit from children's author/illustrator Tom Lichtenheld. Tom is the author of "Everything I Know About Monsters," "Everything I Know About Cars," "What Are You So Grumpy About?" and more.

A special program "Babies, Children, & Books," just for parents of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, will follow at 7:30 pm. Come and meet Dr. GLENDA ALLEN-JONES. Her research interests are family literacy, parent involvement, male involvement, and Head Start. Dr. Allen-Jones has presented trainings on early literacy, authentic assessment and parent involvement.

Early Literacy

What is Early Literacy?
Early Literacy is not teaching your child to read. It is about everything your child needs to know about reading and writing before they learn to read or write. Early literacy skills begin to develop in the first five years of life. They start when the baby: "chews" on it's first board book, listens to you read the words to a favorite story, recognizes a letter of the alphabet, pretends to "read" a story back to you.

You can teach Early Literacy skills!
The best person to teach a baby or toddler is the parent or caregiver. All you need is the basic knowledge of a few important "literacy concepts", some ideas for how to teach these concepts in everyday settings, and a willingness to spend time having fun with your baby or toddler.

Early Literacy Skills

To successfully begin to read, a child needs a variety of skills. These skills are the building blocks for learning to read and write. Children who have these skills before they go to school will benefit more from classroom instruction.

We will offer activities in each age range that you can easily do at home or on the go with your child. (See "Your Baby and Reading," "Your Toddler and Reading," "Your Very Busy Preschooler.") These activities will note which early literacy skill they focus on. A trip to the grocery store or a few minutes of interaction each day while cooking dinner can reap years of benefits. Also, be sure to check out "Reading Aloud." This is the single most important activity you can do that will introduce and reinforce literacy skills.

The American Library Association, along with many professional education institutions, focus on the following six skills:

Vocabulary
Knowing the names of things. Your child may know the name of 3,000 - 5,000 things before they enter school. Keep talking to your child. Practicing saying the name of all the things he comes across each day -- in books and in everyday situations.

Print Motivation
A child's interest in and enjoyment of books. A child with print motivation wants to handle books, select books, pretends to read, and loves being read to. Be the role model for your child by showing your own enjoyment in books. Keep them handy in special areas of the home. Always make reading together a fun and special experience.

Print Awareness
Print = words. Point out printed words everywhere you see them -- on signs, in the stores, in the books you are reading together. Knowing that words go from right to left on the page and from the top to the bottom is a valuable skill in beginning reading instruction.
Narrative Skills

Letter Knowledge
The knowledge that letters are different from each other and represent different sounds. Practice the sounds. Trace over beginning letters in books.

Phonological Awareness
The ability to hear and play with the sound in words. Practice by reading and making up rhyming words.

Narrative Skills
The ability to understand and retell stories. Have your child describe to you things he has been a part of -- a party, a trip to the park, swimming in the pool. Let your child retell a story to you that you have read aloud.

Reading Aloud

Reading aloud to your child should be fun for both of you.

• Pick a book that you like. Make sure it is one that lends itself to being read aloud -- not too many words per page, and the words should describe what is happening in the illustrations.
• Do not finish a book that you both are not enjoying.
• Put yourselves in a comfortable setting that does not have too many distractions.
• Let your child help turn the pages.
• Read with expression. Try tp change up the tone and volume while reading.
• Read aloud every day.
• Repeat books so your child learns to "read" to you and tell the story.
• Ask questions about the story and characters. Listen to your child's answers.