Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Share-A-Story, Shape-A-Future Day 2: Literacy My Way, Literacy Your Way

Special Thanks to Susan Stephenson of The Book Chook for the art!

Ahhh, Day 2 of Share-A-Story, Shape-A-Future, and more great posts to share!!!  Today's theme is Literacy My Way, Literacy Your Way and features a multitude of practical ways to incorporate reading and literacy into your everyday life beyond the usual reading.  There is a HUGE amount of links today and I really encourage you to head over the above linked post to check it out for yourself.  Here are just a few of my personal thoughts on a few select favorites . . . 

The Book Chook reviews a large number of online editors, or ways that kids can create their own stories using today's technology.  I checked out a couple of them and I am very impressed!!!  The artwork is amazing and it can really get some of those creative juices flowing in the young and old!

The Book Chook interviews Francie Dillon, professional storyteller.  This little article has some great advice for parents to not only bring out the storyteller in all of us, but also to encourage the telling that comes from children.  Dillon says, "Storytelling is not better then reading, it's just another fun way to spice things up."  Really, who doesn't want to spice things up?!?

Who knew that you could tell stories in the bathtub?!? Over at Saints and Spinners, ideas are shared for creating everyday activities into literacy moments, including some book recommendations you may want to add to your wish list!  I'm thinking of using this little idea on my commute instead of in the bathtub!!

Elizabeth Dulemba (the creator of the original SAS-SAF logo!!) share with us her thoughts about moving Beyond the Printed Page.  I currently have an aversion to the latest book technology.  I don't like ebooks and I am very hesitant about other modern tale formats.  Consider me old school!!  However, Dulemba shares some really great points about how there is room for both the printed and the electronic page.  She has helped to open my eyes a bit more to the benefits . . . though I will admit, my habits will die hard in this arena!  

Rebecca at Lost in Books shared a while back about Family Stories Month.  I am not sure how I missed this the first time around since her site is one of my favorites, but I did!!  And, discovering this little gem has been a treasure!!  I've been meaning to do this for a while now for my children . . . create personalized journals for each, to share their birth story, have family members share their memories of them and write special messages, write down little things they say . . . I am going to make this one of my priorities!

Over at Moms Inspire Learning, Dawn shares her thoughts on the Circle of Literacy.  She has an interesting analogy for literacy using the sun and the moon, complete with diagrams, but the one comment that stands out to me the most is "literacy is really all about communication."  Afterall, you truly cannot have one without the other!

Last, but not least, a wonderful list of practical ideas from people thinking outside the box are shared.  I've listed them below with a short description:
  • Get Active Kids Reading:  The name really says it all!  There are some wonderful ideas incorporating literacy and activity in one.
  • Getting a Little Sneaky with Literacy:  This is such a fun post with great hidden ways to promote literacy with your children.  Don't forget to click on the links for each idea because it takes you to further information and examples!!
  • Combining Art with Literacy for Young Children:  I love the idea of connecting literacy with other things beyond the book and this is the perfect example!
  • Literacy:  Off the Beaten Path:  Needle and ThREAD shares the idea of using puzzles to promote literacy.  We love puzzles in our household, so this one really hooked me in!
  • A Sticky Situation - Using Activity and Sticker Books:  The First Daughter shares her very personal story about thinking outside the box when it comes to literacy and the success that she has had with it.  
  • Letter to the Author:  How about you have your child/student write a letter to an author, not just as a piece of entertainment, but also as a way to learn and mentor?  Afterall, a student will be more apt to learn if they find connection or interest, right?  Great idea!!
  • Simple Story Extensions for Preschoolers:  Being a huge advocate for "growing beyond the book," I loved this post with actual examples of ways that you can expand on concepts from a book for the preschool age.  
  • Sing to Learn:  Cath discusses the connection between music and literacy, and literally touched my heart!  I grew up surrounded my music and believe strongly in what she writes!
  • Video Games and Learning:  Imagination Soup examines the benefits that video games have, with a few disclaimers and tips, of course! 
Okay, so I ended up highlighting way more than I had planned to!!  There really is just too much of a good thing here and I could not narrow it down!!

5 comments:

  1. This is really was a wonderful day of posts! Too much to get to really! But I'm glad it will be up for days to come so that I can keep learning. I'm so glad you enjoyed my post, I wasn't always very sure about sharing it, but I'm glad I did.

    And thanks for the recap! Makes getting to all of this a little more interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you so much for so many great links, and for including mine! Your kind words are truly appreciated.

    The best part of a blog tour like this is meeting other like-minded bloggers. I'm so glad we connected!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The1stdaughter . . . I love that we will continue to have access to all these resources for years to come!! Everything has been so great and I love the personal stories that make it all so much more empowering, just like your's!! Thank you for sharing your story (and your life!)!! :)

    Dawn @Moms Inspire Learning . . . You are so welcome!!! Thank you for participating and sharing your knowledge and creativity!! I've added you to my Reader as well!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for including my posts, Tif! This was a nice event to participate in. If I had been more on top of things I would have written more than one post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rebecca :) . . . One post is better than none!! Baby steps!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you in advance for your comments! I love to hear reader's thoughts and respond to each one within the comment section. Please feel free to subscribe to the comment feed to ensure you can fully participate in the conversations.

Comments on posts older than 14 days are first approved through comment moderation. Word verification should not be turned on, so please notify me if it randomly appears.