Happy Monday y’all … As I mentioned in yesterday’s roundup, there is no shortage of really cool stuff going on in the Kidlitosphere. Here are a couple of things that will get you pumped on a Monday morning!!

Sarah Neal has a fantabulous I Can Read carnival going on over at In Need of Chocolate. It’s not been opened 24 hours and she already has a dozen contributions!! If you’ve reviewed or talked about easy readers or short chapter books any time in the last year, go on over and share! I am having a hard time picking a favorite from Sarah’s collection. Sarah herself has a great list of short chapter book series, and I loved Zoe’s post about using picture dictionaries for early readers at Playing by the Book, and the interview, and …

The other REALLY cool thing I discovered (via the Big Fresh, the Choice Literacy Newsletter) is the Book Flights and Book Pairings over at Lit for Kids.  With Book Flights, the idea is that people (family, class, book club) read books on the same subject, but they read different books, based on their reading ability.  From Lit for Kids: “It gives parents and children or teachers and students a shared learning experience, but lets everyone bring something different to a discussion of ‘what I’m reading’.”

I had not thought about the “book flight” idea before I wrote my post about Taking Books on Vacation for Booklights today. My emphasis was on audiobooks, periodicals, and music, but I love the visual of everyone sitting around reading something similar but different!

Holy canoli, where did June go? I’m going to kick off the July edition with a newly discovered blog: From the Mixed Up Files … of Middle Grade Authors. Don’t you love the name? Maybe I do because it closely resembles the name of one of my all-time favorite books. From the inaugural post: “Named in honor of the iconic middle-grade book by E. L. Konigsburg, this group blog and website is dedicated to bringing attention to middle-grade books and the people who write them. And we hope to have a little fun along the way, too. (For the truly curious, you can read more about us on our About Us page. You can also view our Contributing Member Bios. )” Thanks Gregory K … Middle Grade Fabooness indeed!

Here’s a resource everyone can enjoy: a list of Printz read-alikes. This year, the Michael L. Printz Award, administered by YALSA and sponsored by Booklist, celebrated its tenth year. The Printz Medal is presented to a book that “exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.” I love read-alike lists and this is a great way to help kids with read-alikes for non-series books. (source: Booklist Online via American Libraries Direct)

21st Century Literacies

Mary Burkey, a member of the Kidlitosphere Yahoo! Group, shared lots of great information about SYNC, “an online community that seeks to build the audience for audiobooks among readers 13 and up.” Beginning July 1 (and running through September 1), SYNC will give away 2 FREE downloads each week. They will pare a popular Young Adult with a Classic title that appears on Summer Reading lists. SYNC is hosted byAudiobook Community, a new social networking site for the discovery of audiobooks. Don’t you love that banner?

I thought I was doing Okay with accounts for LibraryThing, Goodreads, and Shelfari. Then Susan Stephenson (The Book Chook) sent me an article with Ten Websites for Book Lovers … and probably another ten recommendations in the comments! How can you not love that people love to talk about books? [How did I not know Amazon owned Shelfari?]

An inevitable, integral piece of 21st century literacies is the Worldwide Web. At iKeepSafe.org, you will find lots of information about keeping kids safe, and links to resources (like Comcast’s award-winning documentary on cyberbullying). There are resource centers for parents, kids, and educators. (via Seb Schmoller on Friendfeed)

Creative Literacy for Kids

BookAdventure has a kid-oriented book search tool that helps them narrow down potential books of interest by looking at grade, what level they like to read, and up to five genres. Thanks to School Library Journal for the link.

BookChooser on the Reading Matters website offers a similar function. I like how it lets you pick the elements using a scale. For example, if you want very low scary, medium funny and high animal interest, The Rescuers will be on your list. The presentation on this site is a little “cleaner,” so older kids might prefer this one to the brightly colored, fun-font BookAdventure.

Kidzui turns Firefox into a fun, kid-safe browser and online playground for kids 3-12. Over a million kids games, YouTube videos, and websites are approved by parents and teachers. KidZui also organizes content in a kid-friendly way. (via rockyourfirefox.com)

Moving Picture Books is a multi-layered website that helps kids with reading. You can read along, have the book read to you (with word highlights) and also answer “ponderables” about the story. Kids will find stories they recognize (Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed) and characters they love, including many of their Sesame Street friends. There is a free download available, but this is largely a subscription service. (via my brother)

WebRangers is the (US) National Park Service’s online Junior Ranger program for youth of all ages. Students can play more than 50 games and learn about our national parks, monuments and historic sites. They can also investigate the newest WebRangers Activity, Investigating Global Connections, and share park stories and pictures with other WebRangers around the world in My Community. Herea re the links: WebRangers in English and WebRangers en Espanol. (source: Delta Publishing Company/Raven Tree Press ELL Newsletter)

Literacy and Reading Tools for Parents

Little Learners -Vanessa Rough, the blogger behind Silly Eagle Books, started a new blog on a site called Georgia.com. Vanessa will continue to share craft and learning activities to do with kids, but unlike Silly Eagle, she’ll branch beyond pairing the theme to a book. From Vanessa: “my goal is that it be a resource for parents who want to encourage a life-long love of learning in their children.” If you are interested in having a project or activity featured, you can contact Vanessa.

Literacy and Reading Tools for Educators

Periodic Table of Visualization Methods – Who knew? It looks like THE periodic table, but is a lot more fun than atoms and molecules (at least to me). (via Melissa Angle on Twitter)

When it comes to 21st century literacies and using technology in the classroom, there are few better than Franki Sibberson, who partners with Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading. She recently spoke about a tech learning event at a friend’s home, and not only described her experience, but also packed the post with lots of links. The list of 100 Best Teaching Tools (most of them free) on EduDemic is da bom! And I am oh-so-jealous that Franki is getting an iPad! I just love Mary Lee’s monthly mosaics … and this one has my favorite flower in it (daisy!). This month there’s a bonus … Mary Lee also has a mosaic of sky images.

I am still well behind the eight ball but hoping to get back to bigger blocks of time in the office next week. There is a lot of catching up to do, and I miss not hanging out in some of my favorite virtual spots.

Happy May, y’all! In listening to the radio last week, I learned that Tuesday after 11 AM is one of the best times to send out email and other correspondence if you want to increase your chances that people read it. So here I am, Tuesday, after 11.

As many of you know, I think reading diversely is important to ourselves and our communities. So I was REALLY tickled to find AA Kids Book Talks, which offers reviews of African American children’s books. AA Kids is the brainchild of Karen Lemmons, an elementary school librarian in Detroit. When she introduced herself in the Kidlitosphere Yahoo group, I ran over to check out her blog … and so should you.

The Open Clip Art Library is not directly related to reading and books, but for those of us who blog about books and reading, this is a GREAT resource. I, for one, am forever trying to find royalty-free, no-hidden-cost images and clip art to add to my posts. Thanks Marge (who got it from Kathy), your post was a godsend. See the full post at Tiny Tips for Library Fun.

Thanks to a Google Alert, I discovered the Green Gables blog. It’s only 3 months old, and I might not have otherwise found it. Here’s their mission: “At Green Gables Books we have a simple philosophy: Read more and Literacy will improve your life. Our blog offers Librarians, Teachers and Students a contribution to this philosophy. We will present a wide range of authors, viewpoints, attitudes and sometimes just plain fun.” What caught my attention is this post that reviews books Through Children’s Eyes.

21st Century Literacies

Before I dive into the articles, I’d like to point out that the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom has proclaimed this Choose Privacy Week. The focus of the week is to inform Americans about their rights to privacy in a digital age. Social networks Facebook and Google have recently been in the news because of privacy concerns, so this is certainly a good time to establish such a week and to make Americans aware of current and on going privacy issues. Thanks to Kara Schaff Dean for the heads up and the reminder not to forget the kids! @ Not Just for Kids.

School Library Journal is sponsoring 21st Century Digital Knowledge Management: the Changing Role of Media Specialist With Classroom Technology. This is a FREE, one-hour webcast being held on 13 May 2010, at 2:00 pm (EDT). What I like about SLJ events is that if you can’t be there on the 13th, they keep a copy in the archives for a year.

A resource to use between now and then might be Futurelab’s Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum handbook (PDF), which was recently discussed at the Libraries and Transliteracy website. (via email from Susan Stephenson, who saw it tweeted several times).

Creative Literacy for Kids

Barefoot Books has launched a new podcast series on its website. Each week, you can listen to a FREE reading of one of the company’s picture books.

My thanks to Wendie Old’s post iPad + Children’s Books (Wendie’s Wanderings) for the link to Karen Springen’s article in Publisher’s Weekly that is FILLED with links to children’s picture books available as “Apps” for smartphones, computers, and (of course) the iPad. The_iPad_Meets_the_Children’s_Book really opened my eyes to how much is already available with the current technologies. What I particularly like is that Karen includes free eBook downloads, too.

In Susan Stephenson’s Resource Roundup, a collection of cool (virtual) creative literacy toys tools this month, she has a link to BembosZoo. It is so fun! Choose a letter and the word for an animal starting with that letter appears. Then, the letters of the word rearrange themselves to create an image of the animal. Spelling, word association, vocabulary, learning new animals (viper) … cool.

Literacy and Reading Tools for Parents

This via Electronic eBook Readers blog: “Bookmice.com has today launched an exciting line of electronic children’s books. Included this new collection are a series of books that feature internet weblinks embedded right into the text which, when clicked on, take the reader to websites that expand the storyline with fun and educational information.everything from the origins of chocolate and hamburgers to how castles in Medeival Scotland were built.” I tried linking to Bookmice.com but got an ad-riddled site.

Literacy and Reading Tools for Educators

LiteracyHead is a new weekly online journal whose purpose is to instill a love of reading, writing, and the arts. I discovered it (via Google Alert) in the Curator’s Corner, the blog for the Georgia Museum of Art. According to the blog, there is a subscription fee, but you can also sign up for the journal by email … not sure if it’s like other journals where some content is free, but it’s probably worth a look. Click the image and look at all the book titles … I’m sure you’ll recognize some favorites.]

Wow … after yesterday I am feeling both exhausted and energized. We had some great contributions for  Writing about Reading Day 1 and it is so great to see some new faces talking about reading, kids, and ways to promote literacy. An early Tuesday thanks to everyone who participated by posting, chatting, and tweeting.

So today we’re jetting to Australia, where Susan Stephenson of the Book Chook is hosting Literacy Your Way, Literacy My Way Down Under. Thanks to the always-on-top-of-cool-things Travis Jonkers at 100 Scope Notes, I was add a little creativity of my own to my post today. It’s a book (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) … it’s a movie (ditto)  … it’s a graphic (avatar) … it’s a 21st Century Wimpy Me! You can wimpify yourself, too! Just go here.

As I’ve mentioned a few times – most frequently in the monthly roundup of new resources – Susan is always on the lookout for ways to engage kids with literacy. As she often explains, literacy is more than just reading. It is the way we share ideas and knowledge, how we express ourselves, understand one another, and solve problems. Susan also understands that we don’t all learn or process information in the same way, so when she plays with researches – a tool, she looks for all of the creative ways it can be used.

Today at The Book Chook blog she is covering the full gamut of literacy, from traditional storytelling to fun and games to 21st Century tools (aka Web 2.0). It’s already afternoon in Australia, so hurry along … you don’t want to miss out. I am posting the lineup here and  adding live links over at the Share a Story ~ Shape a Future blog.  If you can’t wait, Susan already has them up in Literacy My Way at the Book Chook. Don’t forget to check out Writing about Reading Day 2 … our questions help build on the themes Susan and her guests talk about.

We hear stories before we read them, so it only seems natural that Susan opens the day with a pair of interviews with storytellers. Join her for her chats with Francie Dillon and Helen Evans at the Book Chook. Then *hear* some more stories …

• At Saints and Spinners, Farida Dowler shares ideas for Stories in the Bathtub;
• At Dulemba.com, illustrator Elizabeth Dulemba talks about the future of reading in an article called Beyond the Printed Page;
• Last November, Rebecca Taylor talked about sharing family stories and Family Stories Month at Lost in Books;
• Franki Sibberson talks about digital storytelling in a pair of posts at A Year of Reading. First up, her February post Discovering the Possibilities of Stopmotion in Grades 2-5. She also talks about making Tricky Videos with Klutz;
• Dawn Morris helps us understand that literacy is more than just reading and writing. Head over to Moms Inspire Learning for the Circles of Literacy; and
• At Chatel Village, Kim Chatel shares more about Storytelling in a Multimedia World.

Sometimes we have to be a little creative when it comes to getting kids interested in activities related to reading. If you’re looking for ways to sneak in some literacy …

• Join Joyce Grant at Getting Kids Reading to get ideas on ways to Get Active Kids Reading.
• Pull out all stops. Amy Mascott shares some of her tips for getting a little sneaky at Teach Mama.
• Think pictures. Rebecca Taylor talks about Combining Art with Literacy in the Early Childhood Environment at I’m Lost in Books.
• Grab a puzzle. Jen Funk Weber offers an off-the-beaten path way to literacy in her discussion of puzzles as a literacy tool at Needle and ThREAD: Stitching for Literacy.
• Get sticky! At There’s a Book, Danielle Smith (aka The First Daughter) makes the case for using activity and sticker books.
• Stacey Shubitz at Two Writing Teachers talks about Linking Reading and Writing.
• S-I-N-G! Catherine Oehlman (the “Squiggle Mom“) shares why good little singers become good little readers in through her topic Linking Music in the Early Years.
• Add to the story. Valerie Baartz explores Simple Story Extensions for Preschoolers at her site The Almost Librarian.

We hope you’ll join the conversation … or better yet grab an idea and go “off line” to enjoy the fun. Just as we did yesterday, we will be tweeting posts using the #SAS2010 hashtag. We’d love to hear from you! Tweet your ideas, too … as long as you are sharing for the greater good, not promoting a product.

I’m up a wee bit early this morning, partly because I’m jazzed about Share a Story ~ Shape a Future 2010 which starts tomorrow, but mostly to enjoy a cup of coffee and a bit of quiet morning, and the Sunday *paper*. That’s what Sunday’s are for, right? Here are a few of the tidbits I’ve found this morning.

The cover story for this week’s Parade magazine is What America Cares About, which is covered in the article “Compassion Counts More than Ever,” by Michael J. Berland. It is very heartening to see the great numbers of people volunteering in their communities. According to the Parade.com poll, “Ninety percent [of parents] said that they are working hard to teach their children the importance of activism.” What is not so heartening is that when Americans were asked how they would donate $100,000 for charity, literacy comes in13 of 16. Wow! So many of the higher-ranked problems – research to cure disease (2nd), poverty relief/job assistance (6th), public health (10th), would significantly benefit from eliminating illiteracy. Don’t get me wrong, these are very important issues that take all of us, it is just disheartening to see the perception of what literacy is and how it impacts our world.

I wish I had an excuse to head to Massachusetts. The Wavepaint Gallery, Ipswich MA is hosting “The Illustrator Show,” a display of works by children’s book illustrators Jarrett Krosoczka, Ed Emberley, Jamie Harper, Andy J Smith, Mary Jane Begin, Pat Lowery Collins, and Julia Purinton. The exhibit includes original illustrations will be presented beside their printed books. The Exhibit runs from March 1 to April 23. There is an illustration lecture/reception on April 23, 2010, from 4 to 7 pm). The Gallery Della-Piana in Wenham will have their own exhibit of children’s book illustration at that same time, so grab the kids and have a fun afternoon traveling up or down route 1A admiring art for children’s literature. Maybe I’ll luck out and some of my Northeast-based blogging friends will visit and tell us more … or maybe there will be a virtual gallery, too. (via Andy J. Smith on JacketFlap.com)

In today’s Charlottesville Daily Progress, librarian Jacqueline Lichtman tells us about the Tumble Book library at the Jefferson Madison Regional Library.  “Tumble Book Library, an online collection of animated talking picture books, … includes animated boos, reading comprehension quizzes and educational games. Kids love the movement and the voices, as well as reading along.” I’d love to link you to her article, but I couldn’t find it on DailyProgress.com. Grrr! Bottom line: TumbleBooks is purchased by schools and libraries, but is available for FREE to students and patrons. There are 30-day free trials ont he TumbleBooks.com website.

Oh, the shame! The 2010 Winter Olympics have come and gone, and not once did I mention them or how in love I am with Vancouver. What a beautiful place! I’ve only seen it from the deck of a ship journeying from Alaska. I definitely want Vancouver to be the destination next time. Now I have only memories …

We had an Olympics oops in our house … opening night, no less. (image source: 2010 Winter Olympics on Wikipedia). It’s one of those “funny thing happened on the way to the Coliseum” type stories, so bear with me a sec.

For weeks before the event, every time we saw a commercial about the Olympics, Catherine would twirl about pretending to be an ice skater. Having told her about all the pageantry, she wanted to see that, too. That first night, she was over the moon about being able to stay up late to watch the Opening Ceremonies. Here we are thinking she’ll get to see all the beautiful stuff and learn about Canada.

And what do the organizers do? They move the parade of athletes to the TOP of the program so the athletes could see it. Shift gears. The colorful uniforms were good for a little bit, but then Catherine wanted know when Team USA would come in, since “U” is near the end of the alphabet and the skaters would be right after that. Having listened to the stadium announcer introduce each country first in French, then in English, we assumed (ahem concluded) that everyone was entering the stadium using the French alphabet. SO-O-O thinking that we would be the États-Unis d’Amérique, we told Catherine she could stay up until the American team entered the stadium. Silly parents …

We were W-R-O-N-G, but there was no backing off that promise. Team USA didn’t enter the stadium until about 10:30, and as soon as we got the commercial break. The TV went off.  By then Catherine was too tired to argue to see the show, and off to bed she went. The next day, though, our 21st Century girl asked if we could pull up the videos of what she missed.  So we found the Opening Ceremonies Encore on MSNBC. [Note: Link takes you to the Encore on the MSNBC website. NBC/MSN make you downoad "Silverlight" to watch the videos.]

About five minutes after settling in at the computer, Catherine came running out of the office asking for paper and a pencil.  She wanted to create a list so she could remember “all the weird things I see.”  Writing because she wants to? All right! She was busy writing for an hour!

Snow indoors … totomes (totems) …  whales coming out of the floor … waves really making a circle and turn to samen (salmon) .. and turn to totemes … guy with tatoot belly … leaf exploshon (explosion) …

and so on.  She filled both sides of a page and was so excited to read to us everything she saw. A gold medal performance. There are lots of lessons in this story, but my favorite is that you just never know where inspiration will come from. Even a video can be a writing prompt …

Was Catherine the inspiration for this month’s Prompt Idea post at Booklights? Well, head on over and tell me what you think …

Image source:

Opening Ceremony, Vancouver Sun

Team USA and Vancouver 2010 logos – Wikipedia

UPDATED TO FIX Link problems – Thanks Susan and Christopher.
Before I jump into the collection of literacy tools and resources, I’d like to highlight two, more general resources that offer keys to “process.”

Both of these leads came from The Big Fresh, the Choice Literacy eNewsletter. Although the newsletter is written for educators, both of these pieces can help parents, too.

• SCRIBD’s Social Media Checklist for Youth Projects (PDF). It is written for school use, but the tips are good for parents, too.  Some of the questions posed offer a good starting place for at-home discussions with older kids.  (source: 16 January 2010 edition)
• Kim Cofino’s post Making the Implicit Explicit on the Always Learning blog. In the article, Kim reminds us that what now seems second nature to us as computer users didn’t start out that way. “What’s especially interesting about these little, seemingly meaningless, skills is that they truly are transferrable and haven’t changed much over time – they’re certainly not dependent on a specific version of software. Unfortunately, despite their consistency, they often cause a lot of confusion for people who aren’t really comfortable with technology.” (source: 23 January 2010 edition)

Creative Literacy for Kids

In the Jan 8-10, 2010 edition of USA Weekend magazine, Paul Wisenthalhad a list of 5 great websites that let kids get creative.

• Crank It Up! which is among the Arthur Games on PBSKids. Be forewarned: maestros will be making (and can record) music using pots, pans, spoons,  and more … sometimes all at the same time! (all ages)
• Fidgit, part of the PBS Design Squad site, lets kids design and build their own games. They can also challenge their friends! (ages 8 to 13)

Shidonni – This program, a 2009 Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner, was also on Wisenthal’s list. This was really cool. The kids not only draw animals, but they can make them pets (as in give them names) AND design backgrounds for them. (ages 5 to 12)

Leave it to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create a site where kids can create movies, music and video games. MIT Media Lab members created Scratch, which is for ages 8 and up. Talk about multi-media class projects … Whoa. [Image credit: William Lee, MIT Class of 03]

KnightTime by the Hazardous Players is a website offering a serialized audiobook of a fantasy/adventure. You can listen to the chapters online (streaming) or download them to take them anywhere. The creators have artwork on the site to help young listeners see what the characters look like and get little bios about their personalities.

The Artist’s Toolkit ArtsConnectEd has created this interactive website that is just filled with great things to do.  There are videos of artists at work (albeit just 2 right now), an encyclopedia of terms, and  ways to learn the components of art (shapes, lines, color, movement, etc). In addition to explaining these elements, kids have the chance to take a piece of art and find them, too. The site offers a very professional way of helping learners SEE what words mean (thick line v. thin line) and learn vocabulary, too. I discovered it via the Raven Tree Press hELLo e-Newsletter that offers ideas for adults working with English Language Learners.

Literacy and Reading Tools for Parents

Thanks to Bobbi Newman @ Librarian by Day for her post about learning 2.0 class for parents, a 12-week program sponsored by the Darien (Connecticut) Library. The program kicks off 2 February 2010.

My thanks to Michelle Skamene for her email about ReadingRewards.com.  I found the concept intriguing. First, both parents and kids can set up reading goals … I LIKE that! As kids reach goals/benchmarks, the site “unlocks” games and other fun things. I guess I’d describe it as a Webkins-type site (there are probably others, I just know Webkins) with a CRITICAL  non-computer component. There are teacher tools, AND because it is a Canadian creation, you can use the site in French, too!

Literacy and Reading Tools for Educators

For the ultimate book talk, look no further than Meet the Author UK, where authors introduce their own books in their own words. “Some of the authors you will know, some are bestsellers, some are newcomers, but they are all speaking in their own words about the books that they are passionate about.” When I last stopped by, there were 1,607 authors video clips in the collection. My thanks to Susan Stephenson of the Book Chook for the link.

This one came to me via eMail from Nick Glass, the founder of TeachingBooks.net, and I saw it mentioned several times in conjunction with ALA awards, but I wanted to include it here. TeachingBooks.net hosts a FREE  Curriculum Resource Center for each of the 231 Coretta Scott King Book Award-winning authors, illustrators, and books. You can search by name, book title, award year, or curriculum by audience or subject area.  It is really a neat tool, but I particularly liked the book trailer filled with quotes spoken by the award-winning authors. I wish it was longer than 1:41.

Our thanks to @ReadWriteType for the retweet (RT) of an @readtoday announcement. Both www.literacycenter.net and www.readtoday.net have free Pre-K lesson plans for new followers.

For some reason, I’ve been thinking a lot about writing as one of the components of literacy. This morning over at Booklights, I have a post that focuses on writing as part of literacy. Dear Santa … is a personal story about how letters from Santa are helping us raise a writer.

While Catherine has always loved reading, when it comes to writing, she protests at the mere mention of the word! This year, even the lure of Christmas wasn’t enough. She kept telling us that she wanted Santa to “surprise her,” so she didn’t need to write anything. [Oh, that wily brain of hers!]

I wasn’t sure why she was still reluctant, though, because she regularly comes home from school with cute little notes that her friends write her, and she rushes through homework to write back. There is a part of me that doesn’t want her writing notes in school, but these conversations (what movie do you like?) are important to her … and they keep her writing!!

So, with time running out on the chance of her list reaching the North Pole and one last plea from Mom and Dad, Catherine composed her letter. She wanted to have some fancy paper, so I went to Smilebox, a website that lets you create virtual photo albums, scrapbooks, postcards, and collages for free.** There are hundreds of templates that you can select from … including a letter to Santa!

Pick the template, paste in the photos from your computer on the pre-formatted page, then write your note in the text box. She was hooked! She spent an hour playing and arranging the photos and then describing them to tell Santa what she’s been up to this year.

Now, because she had “paper” in front of her, she decided that there actually are a couple of things she wants from Santa. Ironically, she felt as though she needed to fill in the complete text box (read: full screen), so she kept adding items to her wish list.

As I mentioned in my Booklights post, one of my personal goals for next year is to spend more time writing with and for Catherine.  While she continues to rail against writing “bigger” things, she is comfortable writing letters. So I will meet her where she is and then grow from there.

NOTE: The Reading Tub has an affiliate relationship with Amazon.com. The bookcover image links to their website. If you make a purchase, we may receive income from the sale.

**There is a paid version of Smilebox, too, if you want to pick your own music, burn to CD, etc. You can sign up for a 14-day trial, burn or print what you create in that time frame, and then decide if you want to continue.

This is a lightly modified version of an article I wrote for Nesting.com in November 2009.

Tis the season for ‘round the clock toy commercials! The annual brigade of gadgets and widgets that entice our kids to say “Mom, can I have that?”

If your kids haven’t written that letter to you-know-who, there’s still a few days left. [And if you have 27" of snow and can't go anywhere, then what are you waiting for?]

Helping our kids write that letter is the least we can do to help make their wishes come true. As honorary helpers, we have a close personal relationship with the “big guy,” so we know just how important these letters are to him and the elves. Here are ways that you can incorporate some literacy into the fun of putting together a Dear Santa request.

Use Pictures. Every day, the newspaper is filled with sale pages advertising toys. Many magazines have been running ads for the last several months, too.  Grab a pair of safety scissors, a marker or pencil, and let the kids have fun. Once the lists are created, hang them on the refrigerator so that they can see them every day … until it’s time to mail them. If you have a scanner, you could fax them to the North Pole!

Toddlers and preschoolers

• Cut out  – or let your child cut out – the pictures of the items they want.
• Glue them to a piece of paper, lining up the pictures so that you have room to write next to or under them.
• Write a one-word description next to/under the picture. For example, if your daughter picked out a baby doll, write the word “doll” next to it.

Kindergarten through Second Grade

• Let your child cut out the pictures of the items they want and glue them to a piece of paper.
• For each picture, ask your child to write the name of the item and a short sentence about why they want this toy.

Let them Write. As kids are developing as readers, they are still writing short sentences and learning how to put their words onto paper.

Be a copycat. Once kids can put letters together as words, having them copy them is a great way to practice writing, build vocabulary, and reinforce spelling. By second grade, kids understand sentence structure and punctuation.

• If you’re child isn’t familiar with letter form, create a sample for her with “Dear Santa,” and then show her where the first sentence goes. That will get her started and then she can write a couple of sentences for her opening.
• Grabbing that toy catalog again, let your son pick the item(s) he wants. Instead of cutting out pictures, though, ask him to write the name of the object … and add a few sentences about why he wants this.

Write from scratch. By third grade, kids have mastered the basics of writing. Their spelling may not be perfect, but they can convey more complex thoughts. If your child is comfortable writing, let them write the letter from scratch.

If your child is an older sibling who has an honorary elf card, you can mix and match any of these ideas together. Instead of you writing the words … ask your daughter to help her little brother. After all, that is the kind of thing that Santa likes to see!

More about writing and literacy tomorrow.

For the past few weeks – and over the next few days – the airwaves will be filled with suggestions for gifts. There are many, many recommendations for books. Maybe it is because we’re snowed in with two feet of snow, but I’m going to go in a different direction …

The fun of the holidays, for me, is selecting a gift that shows the recipient that you gave a lot of thought to the present. Ideally, it matches their interests and stretches them just a little in new directions.

With the kids in my life, I look for gifts that look more fun than educational. For example, kids who love mysteries and riddles might enjoy word puzzles or games. Because it is a game, then don’t notice that they’re practicing spelling, expanding their vocabulary, or learning synonyms and antonyms.

Thanks to computers, you can play many of the traditional pen and paper games – and even some board games – online. As a result, kids can play “solitaire” versions of activities that usually required two players or more. While solo play can be helpful, the entertainment comes from sharing the fun with other people. Think: book v. eBook.

Here are some ideas that you can create yourself, find online, or purchase in a “formal” game.

Pen and Paper Games

Alphabet Chase – There are lots of names for this game, and rules vary from version to version. This is a race to find a word for each letter of the alphabet before any of the other players. In some versions, the words must be part of a theme; sometimes players have to find words in exact alphabetical (or reverse alphabetical) order.

Crossword Puzzles – These are probably the easiest puzzles to find. If you’re looking for online puzzles, there are plenty of websites that include crossword puzzles among their activities for children. You might even find some built around a theme. Although you can find some puzzles that are geared for first and second graders, generally, the books are designed for older audiences (third grade on up).

Hangman – This is a timeless classic that is good for kids ages 6 and up. When I was kid, we played with paper and pen. Now, there are portable versions kids can play on hand-held computers.

Word Finds – About the time kids start to practice spelling words, they are ready to try to find words hidden in a grid of letters. For younger kids, look for grids that are no larger than 10 letters by 10 letters.

Word Puzzle Books – I love these anthologies because they offer lots of variety. Within the covers you’ll find crossword puzzles, word finds, anagrams, and other games that engage kids in thinking critically.

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Board Games

Boggle – Shake and sort 16 letter die into a grid, then see how many words you can make from the letters. This takes the paper game to a new level and adds a timer (though we play without one).

Password – Does anyone remember this besides me? This word game dates back to the 1970s. One member of each team is given a word and they offer synonyms or antonyms to help their partner guess the right word. Because spelling isn’t involved, it is a game that all ages can enjoy together.

Scrabble – In addition to the classic game with the wooden tiles, Scrabble Jr. has a picture-style version that is great for Kindergarteners and first graders. There are also brand-centric versions that feature Scooby-Doo, Dora, and Charlotte’s Web. It is an excellent selection when you want something readers of all levels can enjoy.

What’s Gnu – With this game, kids can master 3-letter words. Each player gets a card with one letter and two blanks. A dispenser releases two tiles with letters, and the first person to create a word with the letters wins the round.

Zingo – This is a picture/sight-word bingo game for pre-K and early elementary students. It is a fast-paced game.  The tower releases two tiles that players need to match on their boards. There are variations you can play (one column, full board) to keep it fun.

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Several of the recommendations – like hangman, alphabet chase, and word finds – are games you can make for the kids or that kids can make for each other.  They’re great as gifts or fun to do when you’ve come down with Cabin Fever.

Games offer wonderful opportunities for quality time, incorporating wordplay is a bonus! The best part is that they can be as simple or elaborate as you want, and they can easily be adapted to your playmates’ reading ability.

Do you have a favorite word game? I’d love to hear about it!

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