Mother-Son book club

My friend Joulie is a supermom.

That needs to be said right off the bat. There is no way to live up to the things that Joulie does with her kids. And for the kids at the school. And for the neighbourhood kids.

Luckily, I don't have to be as good as Joulie - I can just wait until she organizes something, and jump right in. (And now thanks to this post you can, too.)

Her latest venture is a mother-son book club. It's a fantastic way to get kids reading. It's also a boy-celebration of books and of reading.



I wasn't sure what to expect from a mother-son book club. The book clubs I've been to have been calm, thoughtful, philosophical affairs (with wine). This was not that kind of book club.



About a dozen boys and their moms (and one dad) gathered in a room in our local library. Each boy was given a T-shirt with a Star Wars character on it with the caption, "Reading is strong in this one." Their first task was to colour the shirt with fabric markers.

I love this shot of Joulie as she tries to say something over the
din of boys drawing, and eating, and laughing - in short,
celebrating books in a way that only boys can!

At the same time, a boy was asked to come to the front and talk about his favourite book. My son gave a heartfelt speech about Rick Riordan's "The Red Pyramid."



After that came the trivia questions about Diary of A Wimpy Kid. "What was the main character's father's name?" Hands go up. "Frank!" Correct.

Fun, fun, fun.

Then, each boy and each mom made a shrinkey-dink name tag, which Joulie (of course supermom has a shrinkey-dink machine, it's one of the many things we love about her) will shrink down for next month's club meeting.



While we drew our name tags, another boy presented his book and more trivia questions were read out. We kept going that way until each boy had presented. The list of books presented was varied and interesting: How to Train Your Dragon; Hamish X and the Cheese Pirates; The Hardy Boys; and Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, among others.



While the presentations were being made, some kids were listening attentively. Some were eating cupcakes. Some were drawing. Some were wandering around, listening but moving. That's boys! A boy book club is not going to be about perfect silence, waiting turns, putting hands up. No, a boy book club is about doing, and calling out, and giggling, and moving around, and challenging each other. And that's perfectly fine.

Our boy book club had everything that boys like - including poop jokes, and stories that end with "and then he died," and swords and questions and laughter and physicality.

It was by far the noisiest book club meeting I've ever been to. And probably the most fun.

After the presentations and name tags and cupcakes and t-shirts, Joulie handed each child and each parent an 8x10 envelope. She instructed us to write the beginning of a story on one side of the envelope. Why an envelope? Why not? Next month we'll use wood to write on, she said, or cloth or whatever else is an interesting medium for writing.

After everyone had started their story, Joulie shuffled them and everyone took someone else's home. Our "homework assignment" is to continue the person's story on the other side of the envelope.

Then each child submitted the title of a book they would like us all to read for next month. We chose one by random draw: The Spiderwick Chronicles, Book I. Next month we'll all have read the book and Max's mom will be the one to come up with the trivia questions and to bring the snacks. Joulie's going to supply another craft, because she's amazing at it.

The first meeting of our mother-son (and one father-son) book club was a noisy, lively, celebratory, exciting... success! We all gave Joulie a passionate round of applause and a big hug.

This book club is going to be the start of something big for our kids.

Scrabble Flash (Boggle Flash)

Don't you wish there was a board game that encourages literacy - but which your kid would actually enjoy?

Scrabble Flash goes one better... it's also electronic, which kids love. And it's completely portable, packing down into a little holder about the size of a small TV remote. (Which parents love.)

You get five electronic Scrabble tiles. Line them up so they're touching at the sides (they "talk" to each other electronically this way). Turn them on, and select Game 1, 2 or 3.

Game 1, Scrabble Flash

The five tiles each display a letter. You have to arrange them into words. For instance, if you get P-A-C-E-S you could make PACE, PACES, ACE, ACES, SEA, APE, APES and so on. You shuffle the tiles around to make as many words as you can in 60 seconds. After you make a word, the tiles flash to signify that your word is acceptable. If it's not a word, it won't flash and it won't count. You can create three, four or five-letter words, although five seconds are added to the clock every time you create a five-letter word.

When the time runs out, you're given your score ("SCR08") and the highest score you could have gotten if you'd guessed all the possible words.

Game 2, Five-Letter Flash

Use the letters to create five-letter words. When you create a five-letter word, you're given five new letters. You keep going until you can't think of a word and the time runs out. It's a great one-person game.

Game 3, Pass Flash (for two or more players)

Just like in Game 2, you have to create five-letter words. When you've got your word, the tiles will say NEXT and you pass them to the next player, who tries to get a five-letter word. If someone misses, they're out and the tiles will tell you what the word was before encouraging you to pass them to the NEXT person. Last one standing is the winner.

Bring out Scrabble Flash the next time your family is waiting for their meal at a restaurant. It's not noisy, so you won't disturb anyone, and it's truly portable.

In our family, Scrabble Flash has been an instant hit, not just with our son but with the adults as well. And it's kind of addictive, actually. You want to keep challenging yourself, keep making words.

It's extremely easy to use and the rules are simple. It's not one of those games that has pages of arcane rules - it's as simple as, or simpler than, Scrabble. You can play for five minutes or you can play for an hour. It's probably best with one or two people, but theoretically you can play game 3 with a whole bunch of people.

And it will help improve kids' literacy skills, because the more they play with letters and words, they more they will understand how they work together. For instance, every time you get an S, kids will pretty quickly figure out that they should try it at the end of the word. And then try the word without the S for a second point. Same thing when they get an E or an ES. And from there, other combinations like EA or OU.

This is a seriously good game, and I give it two thumbs up. It sells for about $30 and if you're buying it somewhere other than Canada or the US, it's called Boggle Flash.

Here are a couple of other reviews of Scrabble Flash.

1) http://scrabble.wonderhowto.com/blog/new-game-by-hasbro-electronic-scrabble-flash-0118257/

2) http://drakesflames.blogspot.com/2010/09/word-game-review-scrabble-flash.html

I should mention that Hasbro gave me a "review" game of Scrabble Flash for free after I'd requested it. I mention it in case you think that my getting the game for free might skew my review. I don't think it does, because they also sent me another game that was OK but which I didn't think had tons of literacy potential, so I simply didn't review it. Dat's mah policy.

Also, the photos on this page were supplied by Hasbro. I thought they'd be better than the lousy ones I'd probably take with my point-and-shoot. But now that I see them on the page they aren't that great, actually. Makes me feel better anyway.

Back to school 2010

By Julia Mohamed

It’s nearly back-to-school time! Time to go from running wild and free to becoming a studious student once again. Here are a few ideas to help make the transition as smooth as possible:

Goal Journal
Have your kids contribute to a nightly journal. Begin now, with their anticipations and goals for the upcoming year, and continue to use it as the year progresses. It will help get them into the routine of writing again, and it’ll be great to look back on it later in the year. They can do all of the writing, dictate to you, add some pictures or make it a combination of everything.

Great sites
School means reports and essays. Here are great, kid-friendly websites where kids can search for the answers to questions on just about anything.

Homework Helper
This site offers categories like “Science, History, World, Sports and exercise.” From there, kids can drill down until they find answers to questions they have on just about anything. Includes facts and information on Canada, plus a “World” category.

It’s a non-profit website and each category uses a specialist in the field to write the information and answer kids’ questions. If you can’t find what you’re looking for on the site, you can ask their experts a question and they’ll e-mail you back. They'll also send parents links to kid-friendly websites.

Fact Monster

Published by Pearson publishing, this site offers information and facts on lots of different subject areas, for kids K to 8. It also has an online atlas, dictionary and encyclopedia and some online games and quizzes (for instance, hangman, Star Wars quizzes, an interactive periodic table, Sudoku, how to write a book report and much more.)

Funschool Kaboose
Funschool Kaboose is a Disney site with great information, games and crafts for kids from preschool to grade 6. It also features sections for parents and educators.

Stock up on school supplies

Before heading out, prepare a list of the school supplies you need. Why not make it a scavenger hunt? Be sure to be specific when you’re writing your list: Number 2 pencils, blue and red ballpoint pens, a calculator, white erasers, a one-inch three-ring binder, etc. Refer to our article, Supermarket Scavenger Hunt for details on how to create the perfect hunt!

Reading - every night

Keep reading to your child every night. Create a reading log for your kids. A simple chart with headings including “Date,” “Title,” “Author,” “Number of Pages Read,” and “Amount of Time Spent Reading” can help keep track of how much they read. For every milestone, give your child a reward. Here’s a past GKR article on Reading Reward Charts.

If you only get a chance to do one thing from this article, check out the websites Julia found - they have a great wealth of information your kids will appreciate when they start getting into essay writing time.

Julia Mohamed is a freelance journalist.

Supermarket Scavenger Hunt

By Julia Mohamed

The next time you go grocery shopping, make it a more educational, enjoyable and literate experience for your kids with a Supermarket Scavenger Hunt!

1. Give each child a list of items to gather. Be as specific as possible (include a brand name, size, etc.) For instance, you might put:
□ One 18 oz jar of Kraft Crunchy peanut butter,
□ Three small green zucchinis,
□ One loaf of Dempsters 100% whole wheat bread.

It helps if your list is divided into categories, such as produce, meat, canned foods and, of course, snacks. That way, the kids will be in one specific area of the store at a time and you can keep an eye on them more easily.

For older children, throw in a few challenging items, such as ethnic foods. For instance, One jar of Red Shell Teriyaki sauce.

2. As each child brings you items, check to make sure they’ve picked out the right ones. If not, send your troops back out into the field.

3. Reward your kids with a healthy treat!

You can continue this activity when you get home. Include them when you’re making dinner by asking them to read out the ingredients in your recipe to you.

You're going to have to go grocery shopping anyway, and you know it's always a hassle. This great game is fun, it gives the kids a bit of freedom, and it gets them reading. A win-win! (Just do keep your eye on them, eh? I don't want to be getting any letters from parents saying their kids were lost for days in the zucchini aisle...)

Julia Mohamed is a freelance journalist. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Literacy games for in the car

By Julia Mohamed

Going on a road trip? Here are some great literacy games you can play in the car.

THE LICENSE PLATE GAME
● One person begins by spotting a license plate and announcing the letters (not the numbers) on it.

● Everyone else, in turn, must come up with a funny phrase using the letters of the license plate, in order. So for example, KES could become “kiss every squirrel” or “knights eating steak.”

ROAD-TRIP SCAVENGER HUNT
● Create a list of things to look for while you’re on the road.

● Your list can be adjusted, depending on where you’re travelling. For instance, a city scavenger hunt list may have: a flashing red light, someone talking on a cell phone, and a sign in a foreign language. A rural scavenger list could include: a horse, a tractor, road kill, a silo, a pond, and a gas station.

TRAVEL JOURNAL
● Before the trip, buy a note pad and box of crayons for each child in the car.

● Every day on your vacation, or for each memorable event that occurs, have the kids draw a picture and write about it in their travel journal.

● Give them some suggestions to get them started (“how about drawing the beach we were on this morning”) but after that, let their imaginations run wild. Encourage them to use as many words as possible. They may want to do the art in the evening in the hotel room or campground, and add the words in the car while you’re driving to your next destination. Young children can write one or two words (“Beach” or “Playing frisbee”) while older kids can write descriptions and even leave out the pictures altogether.

Julia Mohamed is a freelance journalist. This was her first assignment for GKR and I'm hoping it will be the first of many articles from her. (Hint, hint Julia.)
Photo: Ian Britton, FreeFoto.com.

Car literacy games? Literacy games in the car? Not quite right. Literacy games for in the car? Looks weird - sounds ok. It's what you'd say but it looks wrong when you see it spelled out. I dunno - today's not a good headline day for me obviously. Sorry, Julia. Harumph.

Set up summer reading rewards

Stats show that kids who read throughout the summer have a great kick-start to school in September.

And kids who don't, typically start the school year a bit behind.

With the school year ending, now's the time to plan your child's summer reading and writing projects.

Does your library have a summer reading program? Ours does; it's usually a large poster with about a dozen stickers you can earn over the summer by reading a book and then telling the librarian what you read.

The stickers are motivating because they "add" to the picture on the poster when you stick them on it. It's also nice for kids to have the undivided attention of the librarian while they're telling her about the books they've read.

This would be a pretty simple project to do at home. Instead of a poster, it's a big picture you or your child draws on bristol board - and a flat of stickers that have some kind of theme.

You could also arrange the stickers in a "reading reward chart" configuration. Each sticker represents a book the child has read and when he's read five (or 10) books he gets a reward of some kind.

It's important to put the poster or chart up on the child's wall so it's constantly motivating for him.

I don't know about you, but when my son was small I counted books that we'd read together as well as ones he'd read himself. Both types of reading are equally important and valuable, I think.

Related posts:
http://www.gkreading.com/2009/08/summer-reading-program.html
http://www.gkreading.com/2009/07/summer-reading-tips.html
http://www.gkreading.com/2009/01/motivate-your-child-with-reading-reward.html

Here's a link to the Summer Reading Club. This year's theme is "Destination Jungle" and the image with this post is this year's poster.

Numeracy activities

A few posts ago, I listed some great literacy activities from our school board. Here are some numeracy activities to get kids doing math (same source, TDSB).

Again, I've put in bold the ones I think are particularly interesting.

• Estimate speed/distance/time relationships while travelling with your family. What was the average speed of the last trip you took?
  
• Examine maps with your child. Estimate distances. Find locations.
  
• Make a favourite recipe together.
  
• Log and graph sports scores over time. Find trends.
  
• Log and then graph daily temperatures over a one-week period with your family. (Make sure you take the temperature at the same time each day.)
  
• Estimate quantities and volumes during activities like gardening or planning food for a trip.
  
• Track three different stocks and see how they do in one month.
  
• Do mental calculations such as estimating grocery or restaurant bills.
  
• Pay cash for a purchase at the register. Check the correct change.
  
• Calculate how long it will take to save for a certain item your family would like to buy using your money from a part-time job or your allowance.
  
• Calculate a bat/run average for a specific baseball player.
  
• Make a weekly schedule with your family. Make time estimations for different activities.
  
• Read signs with your family while driving. Specifically look for advertising that has a math concept embedded in it. Talk about it.
  
• Explain how to calculate the tip at a restaurant. Do the calculation together.
  
• Open a bank account. Many youth accounts have brochures that explain interest rates. Read the literature together and decide which type of account will earn the best rates, minimize your transaction costs and meet your minimum balance plans.
  
• Look at sports statistics. Have a discussion about an interesting trend.
  
• Go grocery shopping together. Compare prices. Estimate price per kilogram. Which is the better price?
  
• Talk about items on sale. Do some Internet research to find out whether other vendors have similar products costing more or less.
  
• Talk about lotteries. Examine the odds.
  
• Talk about how a credit card works. Look at a statement together.
  
• Look at your electricity, gas or water bill. Which utility costs your family the most?
  
• Look at charts and graphs that appear in newspapers or magazines you receive. Find one that has information that interests your family. Talk about the chart or graph.
  
• Examine different cell phone packages. Which is the best value for your calling pattern and payment preferences?

Source: Toronto District School Board, TDSB.

Get involved in your child's school

Enrich your child's learning, help your teacher, get involved.

I despair when parents complain that their kids aren’t getting what they need from their school.

I despair, not because the children aren’t getting what they need from their school, but because we parents have been conditioned to accept those terms lying down. And I strongly believe that if your child is not getting what he needs from school, you can change things.

We parents need to recognize our power. We need to ignore the “stop” signs that have been put up around us—Stop! You can’t participate in school. Stop! You we can’t go into the classroom. Stop! You can't change the curriculum.

School is not some sacrosanct chamber. It’s where our children spend the vast majority of their time during the day. School is where our children are living their lives.

And if they’re not getting what they need from school, we can change that. As parents, we need to change that. We need to add stuff, we need to get the teachers to add stuff, we need to change stuff.

We can raise money for great books if that’s what’s needed—or just make a donation to the classroom of appropriate books (with input from the teacher, of course). We can find interesting programs that are being offered and get them incorporated into our school’s curriculum. At our school, for instance, the parent council funded a chess program so now all of our kids, from grades 1 to 6, get instruction in chess once a week.

We can talk to the teacher and the principal to find out how we can help. Taking a look at our own skill set is a good place to start. That’s how I arrived at the idea to do a weekly current events session in my child’s class. I’m a journalist and I love the news, so I simply asked the teacher if he’d be interested in my bringing newspapers to the kids once a week.

How about buying a few sets of Boggle or Scrabble and introducing your child’s class to a weekly game that gets them thinking and spelling? Or researching excellent fun learning websites on the Internet, so that when your child’s computer time comes around, the teacher has some good options to offer the kids.

Or how about introducing chess to your child’s class? Chess is actually extremely easy to play at a beginner level; once you know how each piece is allowed to move, you’ve pretty much got it. (It only gets hard at more advanced levels.) You can teach yourself how to play, buy or borrow a few sets and then – presto – you’re bringing chess to your child’s classroom once a week. And as our chess instructor will readily point out, the game teaches children how to think ahead, which is a valuable life skill.

If you can throw off the shackles of “parents should not interfere in school” and get involved, there are thousands of ways in which you can customize your child’s learning, help the teacher and enrich the school’s curriculum. And that’s a good situation for everyone.

I'm not suggesting some radical, half-cocked approach here. I'm talking about taking your ideas to the teacher or the principal and letting them know what you can offer and why it would benefit the school. Working with them as a partner. And of course, the benefit to you is that your child will then be exposed to new and extended learning. I mean, like, don't just do stuff for other classrooms - do it for your own kid's. It's a win-win.

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 provide structure for my amateur (I’m a journalist, not a teacher) efforts.

I’ve gone in twice now, and the kids do seem to enjoy it.

It occurred to me that what I’m doing with the class can easily be done by parents (and educators) with their own kids.

The Current Events class
The first class was a review of the news from the past few days. I wanted to tell the kids about some of the major news stories that were unfolding – like the oil spill and the G20 summit that’s coming to our city this summer. And then I just picked out a bunch of interesting stories that I thought kids could relate to.

I held up each newspaper article, read the headline and then explained what the article was about. I also gave a bit of information about the various newspapers available in Canada and what they were all about. I talked to them about “how” to read a newspaper – for instance, you don’t have to read every word of an article – and how to understand headlines even though they’re often written in a very truncated way.

We talked about the G20 summit – what it is and the various ways in which it would impact the city. And the oil spill, and what BP was trying to do to stop it (including shoving golf balls into the pipe! We had a show of hands as to how many kids thought that would work.)

And then we reviewed a handful of other stories including the discovery of some new species in New Guinea, the fact that our city is missing millions of dollars in unpaid speeding ticket fines, and Robert Munsch’s revelation of his alcohol addiction (we were careful to present that in a positive light—how he had overcome adversity).

The children were very interested in the news and how it affects them. For many of them, it was an introduction to parts of the newspaper that didn’t have comics or Sudoku.

And then the teacher did something really, really smart. He took a vote on which stories the kids wanted me to follow up on the next week. That way, we could see what the kids were interested in and hone the presentation to be of the most interest.

The kids picked the G20, the oil spill and the species, which I thought was an incredibly mature list—this is some heavy stuff.

Week 2
The second week I followed up on the G20: the $1B security tab for the summit, and the many tourist attractions (including the CN Tower) that will be shut down during the talks. And I was also able to report that the golf-ball idea is going ahead – and that one of the back-up plans is to use human hair to clog the spill. Seriously. (No one in the class thinks that will work, either. Maybe BP should call us.)

And we added in a few new stories that were interesting that week: the boy in Alberta who was refused the right to wear a kilt to his graduation (his principal has since changed his mind); the million works of art that are currently in the hands of the Toronto District School Board and which may be loaned out to schools; and the fact that vending machines in our city’s recreation centres will be going healthy (the class cheered).

Reading the news is a fantastic literacy exercise. Kids are keen to know what’s going on around them, but newspapers can be daunting. Headlines are hard to read and articles generally require a lot of general and historic knowledge in order to understand them. But once an adult puts things in context, kids just jump right in.

And that’s a gigantic step towards getting kids reading.

Sorry I haven’t been blogging as much as usual – but you can see how busy I’ve been. Add our school’s FunFest and other activities to the mix, on top of my “money-making” job and it hasn’t left much time for blogging. But I hope to be back on the horse again soon.

Great online game: Clockwords

Clockwords is an online word game I can't stop playing. (Must. Stop. Playing... Have. Deadlines...)

Here's why it might be good for your child - in moderation, something I'm not particularly good at, so be forewarned.

1) Literacy
The game is based on you (uh, your child, that is) coming up with words, lots of words. But not just any words. You do much better in the game when you come up with words that are long and use "difficult letters" like J and Q rather than, say, vowels. Plus, you get more points if you don't repeat the same words and if you enter a string of words the same length. So it gets you thinking about vocabulary. And spelling is very important because the game won't accept a word that's spelled incorrectly.

2) Typing
You have to type in all of the words, of course. And the faster and more accurately you can type, the better you'll do. I'm a big advocate of kids learning to type, because it helps them get their ideas down faster when they're writing something and it may be an incentive for technology-oriented kids to write.

A synopsis of the game
Like most games, the plotline is a bit fuzzy. Something about a clock-machine and some robot bugs that are eating its documents? Does that sound right? No it doesn't, but stay with me.

You type words into the machine, preferably using the letters that appear on the screen in tubes. Those words are loaded into some kind of blaster and are shot at the bugs. The more letters in the words you choose, the more ammunition to blast those bugs. You win a round by blasting all the bugs so they don't - erm, eat your document? Or something.

Did I mention this is a really good game? Trust me, it is.

At the end of each round you can "buy" letters that have qualities like freezing ability or... OK, I'm going to stop here. It's sounding a lot more complicated than it is.

Just play it.

Thanks to Barte Bonte for pointing out this addictive game. Now, could you please call my publishers and explain why I'm about to miss my deadlines? Thanks.

Getting active kids reading

Sitting and reading is not the only way.

At age five, girls are able to sit still and listen about 2.5 times longer than boys, according to studies.

But we don’t need research to tell us that most boys would rather get up and move around than sit and read.

Here are some great ways to keep active kids happy while they’re learning. (Statistically, this tends to be a boy issue--so we're using the male pronoun--but if you’ve got an active girl these tips will apply just as well.)

1) LET HIM MOVE. Let your son play with a ball while you read to him. Having a ball to quietly hold and catch helps lots of kids concentrate better.

2) INTERRUPT THE STORY. When you come to a plot point, stop and ask him, “why do you think that happened?” or “what do you think that meant?” Not only does it help with comprehension, but it breaks up the monotony of listening.

3) GO OUTSIDE. It's called "environmental literacy" - finding things to read outside. There are tons of signs and advertisements to read out there, and even word puzzles to figure out. What does that parking sign mean? When can you park here? How much is parking? What is that an ad for? Do you believe the ad? He’ll have to read carefully to figure out the answers.

4) MAKE EVERYTHING A CONTEST. Active kids, and especially kids who like sports, love to be timed, challenged, and rewarded. When you play literacy games, getting out a stopwatch can bring the right measure of fun competition to it.

5) PLAY ACTIVE GAMES. Take a long strip of paper – say four feet long by four inches high (or several strips). In marker, write a sentence on it. Then cut the sentence up into words. Hide the words around your backyard or playground. Have the child run around and collect the words, bringing each one back to you when it’s found, before running out and getting the next one. When he has them all, he can piece them all into a sentence. Time him and see if he can do it faster the second time around.

6) HOST A TREASURE HUNT. Use signs to lead your child up to his bedroom, across to his dresser, over to the bathroom, down to the basement, into a closet, up to the attic, into the fridge… and then over to the dining room table, where he’ll find his treat (chocolate, or a wrapped book, or some other small reward). It’s a great game that combines reading with physical activity.

7) WRITE A STORY WHILE YOU’RE WALKING. Schedule a long walk, just the two of you. While you’re walking, lead him to create a story – with characters, an interesting setting and a couple of plot points.

Extending this activity: When you get back home, he can dictate the story so you can write it down, or he can type it up. Make it into a book and add illustrations. He’ll have something tangible that he has created.

This post is part of the Literacy Blog Tour (March 8-14, 2010) - welcome tourists! We hope you'll be back again and again.

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 lockers
Kids post a notice on their locker that says what they’re currently reading, and features a colour photocopy of the bookjacket.

At home, this would be great on the outside of a kid’s bedroom door.

He can be proud of what he’s reading, and the overall effect says that what you’re reading matters to others. Plus, it gives other kids suggestions for good books.

It takes a solitary occupation and makes it shareable with others.

Everyone reads the same book
The Toronto Public Library system did this for the whole city and it can be done in a school, an individual classroom, or with a kid and his friends. You get one great book (“The Mysterious Benedict Society,” for instance) and everyone agrees to read it.

Young kids can have it read to them – older kids can read it themselves.

You can set up a website or a face-to-face forum like a book club to discuss the book.

It’s fun and creates a buzz. There are tons of spin-offs possible, like having the author visit the school or renting the video/movie (for instance for Alice in Wonderland or The Phantom Tollbooth).

READ posters
Remember that awesome poster campaign featuring various celebrities reading, with one word – READ – underneath? How about doing that in your school, featuring local celebrities (the mayor, councilors, teachers, the principal). It sends the message that reading is important.

Reading night
Schools can host a “reading night” once a year. After dinner, kids and parents return to the school where there is an hour or two of fun literacy activities. It could be a readaloud, learning a craft using a how-to book or a book swap. Add baked goods and it could also be a school fundraiser.

For more information on each of these ideas, and other good ideas besides, check out the Choice Literacy website.
I came across Choice Literacy via a tweet from @JensBookPage – thanks Jen!

Image: Barry Lou Polisar.

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 and goes into a different area of the home.

One child hides, and the other has to find him.

The child who is hiding uses the DS's "PICTOCHAT" function to provide clues.

My son hid in his friend's room, under the covers of his bed. For his clue, he wrote "sleep."

Another time he hid in the bathroom and his clue was "pee" - hey, he's eight.

I loved this creative use of technology that would otherwise just be about video games, and it kept them busy for a long time, having fun.

What is PICTOCHAT?

PICTOCHAT is a great feature of the DS that lots of parents - and kids, even - don't know about.

It's a screen that allows you to write or type a message which is then relayed wirelessly to any other DSs in the vicinity.

To access it, touch PICTOCHAT right after you turn on the DS.

(Here's an earlier post about it, with a bit more information.)

Having a hard time telling your Wii from your DS? DS stands for "double screen" - it's the one with an upper and a lower screen. DS. Don't call it a Gameboy - I just did that for clarity's sake. So uncool, maaaaawm!

Great homework

Our son's teacher created an awesome homework assignment.

And it's something parents could do, too.

I just asked my son and his friend if they've finished their homework (it's just two days into the winter break). They both said yes. Even though there was a lot of reading involved, and some math. Here's why.

It's a detective story. It covers about three pages (yours could be shorter), and leads the reader through several interesting "logic puzzles."

Here's a sample plot:
A detective receives a note.
The note says there's going to be a bank robbery.
The reader (child) has to figure out when the robbery is going to take place, at which bank, and who the culprit is.

The clues, and the steps to solve them, are in the story.

For instance, the note can say, "A robbery is going to take place at 1 2-1-14-11 9-14 20-15-18-15-14-20-15."
Detective Bill thought, "I can figure out the blanks by substituting letters for each number. For instance, "A" is "1"."

So now, the message says: "A robbery is going to take place at A BANK IN TORONTO."

Then the detective had to figure out which bank.
He got a list of banks like this:
Bank of Montreal, 24 Quebec St., 431-1435
Royal Bank, 91 Queen St., 987-1243
TD Bank, 43 Canada St., 332-1322

The note told the detective the robbery would be at bank #428.
The detective decides to use a formula for figuring out which one was #428. (Something like, add all of the numbers in each phone number and multiply them by the street number).

You get the idea.

The last clue was about whodunnit.
The note was signed, "Raymo."
The reader had to rearrange the letters to figure out that the culprit was the city's "Mayor."

Kids will get excited about reading and math when the story is about them, and lets them figure things out. Your story could be about a detective who has to solve a mystery surrounding a baseball team. Or with Hannah Montanna. Or in a dinosaur museum. Or a video game parlour. Or whatever your kid's into.

Use your child's name in the story, the names of siblings, pets, her school - whatever will catch her eye as she's reading. She'll love it!

So right now you're surfing the net. You're reading this blog (way to go, you rock, incidentally). But obviously you've got a few minutes before the boss comes back. So use this time to write a quick story. Steal liberally from my ideas, above (after all, I stole them from my son's teacher, a-hem). Don't even worry about including a "mystery" if you want - just make it a story. Don't worry if it's simple, if it's not as good as Robert Munsch would do. Your kid will love it - and she'll be reading.
Photo: iStock.

Club Penguin

My son is hanging out in Club Penguin these days.

And, um, so am I.

Club Penguin is a virtual world for kids - each kid is a cartoon penguin.

You take your penguin around the island, into various buildings, down ski hills, onto a pirate ship. (Still with me?)

Theoretically it's free, but all of the fun games are behind the membership wall, and that's $5.99 a month. My son and I are trying it for one month.

I set up my own penguin so I could play with my son online.

He wanted to join up because it's something his friends are doing.

I agreed, because I thought it would get him typing more (the penguins can talk to each other).

The literacy angle

Long-story short, I just found a terrific area on Club Penguin that may provide a good incentive for him to type. It's in the "book room" (natch), in the Coffee Shop. There are several books there that feature stories which you have to type in order to read them. As you type the tale, more story is revealed.

At the end, not only have you read a story but you receive a bunch of Club Penguin coins, the local currency.

And you've done a bunch of typing, which is the whole point, as far as I'm concerned.

Here's a link to Club Penguin.

It's known for being very safe, with excellent parental tools such as the ability to limit the amount of time your little penguin hangs out there, and they're very responsive to people writing them with queries.

I have no idea if this Club Penguin thing is good or not, or has anything to do with literacy. Probably not. But I am enjoying exploring stuff my son's interested in, and we're having fun.

Incidentally, if you think Club Penguin is a little thing, it's not. There are about 50 servers on the site, and at any given time most of them are full, with thousands of little virtual penguins. It's a big club.

Make a book for Christmas

This is a great time to make your child a book for Christmas or Hannukah.

Children of all ages are motivated to read a book about their favourite subject - themselves.

Here's how
*Buy a small scrapbook with stiff pages. (Craft stores have them. You can also use a photo album.)

*Select five to 20 photos of the child, her favourite activities, family and friends, and events from the year. I usually print them out on one of those machines in Shopper's Drug Store - they're just $.23 per print, or so and I don't have to wait.

*Put them in some kind of logical order.

*Tape them into the book.

It's best to type the text for the book on your computer, print it out, and cut it into lines that you can paste below each photo. Use a simple font like Times New Roman (don't get fancy - the goal is legibility.)

For really young children, print one or two words in a large font under each picture:
"Susie"
"Daddy"
"Susie's teddy"

For slightly older children, try one-liners:
"Sebastian turned 4 this year!"
"Sebastian loves to play hockey."
"Daddy and Sebastian at the museum."

For kids who are reading, try writing your own short story.
Each page can have a few lines or a paragraph, with pictures on some pages. Reflect on the year, and write about some of the highlights:
"Our trip to Hawaii was incredible. Dad got seasick on the boat, and Mom lost her wedding ring - but she found it again! I couldn't wait to try Mahi-Mahi - it was delicious."

Another idea is a book that shares some of your insights about your child.
"Daddy and I love you, and we are so proud of you for always trying to do the right thing. Remember when Bradley at school was getting bothered by that boy? We were so proud when you stepped in and stood up for your friend. That took courage!"

Or, help your child keep track of milestones.
"I am a good hockey player. Just two years ago, I was barely skating... now I'm a fast skater and I can do a hockey-stop. I played in goal twice this year; I've scored six goals and gotten a whole bunch of assists. The coach says I'm a good team player. Next year, I want to join the Select team."

Other tips:
In your captions, try to go beyond what's obvious in the picture: "At the beach," could be "This is where we found the big orange conch shell."

Write from the child's perspective, "I, I'm" and the book will be more interesting to them.

Include the names of your child's friends. Wouldn't you love a record of names and photos of your friends from when you were really young? Do it for your child.

Cut some of your photos into shapes if they don't fit on the page.

Pick a great photo for the front of the album, and don't forget to date your book.

A book about your child will be something that fascinates him, and makes him want to read every word. He'll pick it up again and again - and for years to come.

The book in the picture is one that I started for my son this time last Christmas, but never finished. I picked it up, blew off the dust (literally) and flipped through it. I teared up - you forget how fast they grow, and how small they were last year! I'm going add the captions and a photo on the front and give it to him this year.

Internet word game: Dungeon Scroll

They won't even realize they're learning.

If you've got a child who's into computer games but you'd rather they read, here's something that will make you an ultra-cool parent.

It's called Dungeon Scroll, and it's simple and fun.

In each "dungeon" you face an enemy.

You defeat the enemies by casting words at them, which you create from the random letters you're given.

Each enemy requires a certain number of words to defeat it.

At the same time, your "health" decreases so you've got to think fast.

You can't use the same word twice, and longer words defeat the enemy faster. Good, and good.

There are three levels, for kids who are really good at scramble games and kids who aren't.

You can play 80 minutes of the game for free. After that, you have to download it for $6.99.

The free time is long enough so you'll know whether your child likes it well enough to pay for it.

Seriously, your child will enjoy this game. And seriously, you'll be the coolest parent ever. Again. Thanks to Getting Kids Reading. (Yer welcome.)

Teaching long and short vowel sounds

I’m going to be working with an eight-year-old to teach him long and short vowel sounds.

I know him fairly well, so I know he’s into Lego, and computers and art.

So I’ve come up with some activities that take advantage of those interests. I’m going to start by asking him (ahead of time) to make a big S and L from Lego. That will give us our categories – long and short vowels.

Then I’m going to bring some drawing materials and get him to draw, very quickly, the things I shout out – like, “Tree!” “Ball!” “Table!” “Snake!”

After every drawing, I’m going to have him put it under the Lego L or the Lego S, depending on whether its vowel is short or long. We’ll discuss each one as we go.

And at the end of it all, I’m going to teach him a “trick” about the silent “e” (how it makes vowels long) – and I’m hoping I’ll be able to bring a silent e made out of clear plastic.

Oh, and before we start, I’m going to talk to him about nicknames (he loves nicknames). I’m going to discuss how every vowel has a “name” and a “nickname.” In other words, the long sound that is the vowel’s name, and its short sound, that is its nickname.

I think that should be a good 20-minute first lesson, don’t you?

Update: The lesson went really well. He caught on really quickly. At first he didn't want to do the lesson at all, but his parents persuaded him. After we chatted for about two minutes (mostly about Star Wars), he was fine with it, and even enthusiastic.

Used the walk over to my house to talk about "nicknames" for letters - boys learn best when they're able to move their bodies at the same time. He got the concept immediately. Afterwards, instead of cookies, we played checkers. We're both looking forward to next week.

I have to think of a reward, after the lesson's done. Maybe we'll play with the Lego. Yeah, who am I kidding - more likely I'll bring cookies!
Oh, and that picture is Einstein built out of Lego (from Wikimedia Commons). Rather fitting, I thought, don't you?

Munsch contest for Canadians

Here’s a very exciting contest for Canadian kids.



I’ll start with the best part – the winner gets a home visit from Robert Munsch! How exciting is that? (Extremely.)

To enter, simply write a short story with your family and submit it here.

If you win (and we’re gonna repeat this 'cause it’s awesome) Robert Munsch will come to. your. home. And he’ll read your story. And he’ll do a free reading at a school or library of your choice.

Plus, your story will be published in a newspaper or magazine and posted on the ABC Canada Literacy Foundation’s website.

Rules
*A child must be the primary author, but one adult must also be involved.
*250 words or less.
*The story must have a “singing” theme to tie in with the 2010 Literacy Day “Singing for Literacy” event.

Deadline
*December 11, 2009, 5 p.m. EST.

Family Literacy Day was created by ABC Canada and is held every year on Jan. 27. There’s lots of other stuff happening to celebrate that day.

Well, not only is this a great contest, but this is the first video I've ever embedded on my blog. Good for me! (Let's hope I don't get sued - I assume this video is copyright-free? I mean, it's basically an ad, right? And they'd want as many people to, uh, see it as possible? Gulp.)

Creating comics online

I made this comic myself - and it was fun.

Imagine how much your child will enjoy creating their own story lines.
And afterwards, they can print them out and put them in a binder, or e-mail them to their friends.

Making comics not only ensures that your child will be reading, it means he'll be thinking logically about plot lines, beginning-middle-and-ends, character development and so many other things that are important to budding writers.

It's simple to do - and did I mention it's free (you don't even have to sign in).

The software is very intuitive, so there's no need to "learn" a software program.
You choose one, two or three boxes. Then you pick a character and his or her "mood." Then you choose a balloon and type in the words.

What I like about this is that it's easy enough so that kids can do it themselves, but sophisticated enough to provide lots of options for the child to make the cartoon his own.

Visit Make Beliefs Comix and try one yourself. Then let your child loose on the site.

Oh, and you know you and your spouse are gonna end up as characters in your kid's comic scenarios, right? The sacrifices we make to get our kids reading.

BTW, the image on this post is a bit blurry - but that's because I'm fairly inept at photoshop, not because of the site. It's very crisp.