Literacy Jackpot

I visited my local library recently and found these gems that I couldn't wait to share with you! I get so excited when I find new books that are really relevant and fun. So here we go...

Ruby, Violet, Lime: Looking for Color (Jane Brocket's Clever Concepts) 

Do you ever get tired of plain old "red, blue, and yellow?"  Well, this is the book for you! This book has wonderfully large, colorful photos and it introduces colors with pictures and catchy text: "Red is bright and bold. Scarlet candy, ruby flowers, crimson chairs, and rosy apples..." How many different ways can you think of to describe the colors yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, and more!  I also love the fact that this book includes brown, black, white, silver, and gold. Even pastels such as "peachy" and "soft pink" are included. I was delighted to find other books in this series: 

• Spotty, Stripy, Swirly: What Are Patterns? (Jane Brocket's Clever Concepts)
• Spiky, Slimy, Smooth: What Is Texture? (Jane Brocket's Clever Concepts)

LMNO Peas 

No more "B is for ball" in this innovative story. Instead, "We're builders, bathers, and bikers in a race." And the humor is that the builders, bikers, bathers and other characters in this book are all... you guessed it... PEAS. Such a cute and fun alphabet book. 

Alphabet Soup

Otter just moved into a new house and decided to have a house warming party where each guest brings an ingredient for soup.  And then the processional of guests begins... there's Cricket's Cracker Crane; Owls, Onions and Okra; Vegetables via Vole; and much more. Again, this is one of those books that goes beyond "B is for ball and C is for cat." Not that there's anything wrong with those books - but this one, just like LMNO Peas just adds a creative spin for those who are ready for something unique and creative. And the illustrations are filled with rich, lush detail. Each page also has a little tongue twister that includes the featured letter.

Helping Children Learn about Letters and Words Guest Post by Renee Abramovitz

To a young child, letters are just funny symbols on a page. Some are tall and straight, others are looping with big curves. With a little guidance, you can help even a young child develop strong letter and word awareness skills so that he or she can begin to understand the important role letters and words play in our environment.

Fun games and engaging letter worksheets are simple ways to help your child.

Try this at home:

1) Read simple picture books to your child; those having just a few words or a single sentence on each page are best for this. Point to each word as you read it and encourage your child to point along with you or to point to the word after you read it aloud.

2) Label some key places in your house with the word printed in uppercase letters on a piece of paper or a note card. Some suggestions would be to label the door, window, wall, shelf, bed and drawer in your child’s bedroom.

3) Let your child dictate a thank-you note or birthday card, for example, to a relative or friend. Write each word in uppercase letters as he says it to you. Keep the message short. Read it back to your child when you are finished printing. Give your child a chance to “read” his card from memory back to you or another family member.

4) Point out words in the environment, such as STOP on the street corner or DONUTS on his favorite snack restaurant. Ask your child to point out signs he recognizes.

5) Point out words in your child’s environment, such as names on cereal or toy boxes.

6) Write your child’s name on his belongings and point it out to him when he is getting dressed or using a labeled item (such as a backpack or pencil box).

7) When reading short, simple picture books, go back to some pages and say: “Let’s count the number of words in that sentence.” And then point to each word as you count, instead of read, the word.

8) Play the “Mailman Game.” Write a short message to your child on a card and deliver it to him as if you are a mailman. Read him the message when you give it to him or when he takes it out of the envelope. “I love you.” or “Grandma is coming soon.” are some examples.

9) Let your child add to your grocery list. Write the item on the list as he watches you. When he wants you to buy something, that word will be very important to him!

10) Complete colorful alphabet letter worksheets. Pick letter coloring pages that focus on introducing one letter at a time for younger children or pick aletter awareness worksheet that focuses on many letters at a time for older children.

Renee Abramovitz is a retired preschool and kindergarten teacher and proud grandma to four beautiful little boys. Visit Renee atwww.schoolsparks.com to find a free kindergarten readiness test parents can take to see if their kids are ready to start preschool or kindergarten and hundreds of free kindergarten worksheets to help children develop critical school readiness skills.

BOOK OF THE MONTH: A is for Autumn

Autumn Activities:

• Try some of these great corn activities from Preschool Express.
• Fingerpaint with yellow and red paint to make orange.
• In the sensory table, add hay/straw and toy tractors, pumpkins, and other fall items.
• Make fall colored play dough (orange, red, brown).
• Make leaf prints by painting the vein side of a leaf and pressing it onto paper.
• In the art area, fill the collage jars with fall colored scraps of paper, tissue paper, yarn, ribbon.
• Visit Preschool Express for lots of pumpkin activities.
• Try this easy pumpkin muffin recipe.
• Make a "Fall Bingo" game (see sample) by making a blank Bingo Grids in a word processing program. Find pictures/images on the internet and insert fall pictures (such as acorns, leaves, pumpkins, etc). Depending on the size of the class, you will want to make 5-8 different cards. Print on cardstock and laminate.

Find many, many more Fall activities in these Autumn Posts:

• Apples and Pumpkins
• Autumn Trails
• Monster Mash

S is for S'mores

S Is for S'Mores: A Camping Alphabet by Helen Foster James

I loved K is for Kick and P is for Putt so, it's natural that I'd like S Is for S'Mores: A Camping Alphabet! As with the other books in the series, there is catchy text associated with each letter of the alphabet in addition to several facts about camping. Here are some more fun activities to try:

• Trail Mix S'mores: Mix mini marshmallows, teddy grahams, and mini chocolate chip cookies in a bag and you have all of the fixings (without the mess) for the perfect s'more!
• Animal Collage: Make a collage of animals that you might see while camping.
• Map It: Mark the National Parks on a map of the United States.
• Pop Up Tent: Add a small pop up tent to housekeeping or block area. Add a few props such as blankets, flashlights, sleeping bags etc
• Starry Night: Buy glow in the dark stars to put around your classroom (particularly on the ceiling) and turn off the lights to pretend you are camping under the stars.
• Coloring Pages and Patterns: Use these coloring pages to enhance the theme. Children can color them or teachers can use them to create bulletin boards or concept activities.
• S is for S'more and C is for Camping: Print and color 2 tent patterns. On one tent, write the letter S and on the other, write the letter C. Have a variety of pictures or objects that begin with the letters C and S. Children sort the objects by placing them on top of the correct tent.
• North, South, East, and West: Teach children to use a compass.
• Camp Fire: Make logs by wrapping paper towel tubes in brown construction paper. Use red, yellow and orange tissue paper "flames" to add to the logs. Add a small mini-flashlight under the "fire" to make it glow! Large white cotton balls attached to the end of the stick make great "marshmallows!"
• Nature Sounds: Play a CD of nature sounds such as Echoes of Nature: American Wilds.
• Camp Fire Stories: Have children bring sleeping bags. Sit around the pretend campfire, turn out the lights (remember to have your Starry Sky ready), eat your s'more trailmix and tell camping stories.

More Camping Books

BOOK OF THE DAY: Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

Bad Kitty (who used to be a Good Kitty) was not happy when there was only Asparagus, Beets,  Cauliflower and other healthy foods (all the way to zucchini) to eat. And thus begins this little kitty's adventure through the alphabet. This book might be a bit long for some children to absorb in one sitting, but chances are they will want to read this one again and again!

Related Activities:

• Visit these blog links for other alphabet books and activities.
• Use the Bad Kitty Doll. Let children take Kitty home and write a story about what good or bad things Kitty did during the visit.
• These Lesson Guides have other great activities: Jen Duncan and Chalk Talk
• Make a Venn Diagram or chart comparing real cats and pretend cats.
• Tie the story into a unit on cats:  CFA, Discovery Channel, Cool Cat Brain Teasers from National Geographic for Kids, and Cat Photographs from National Geographic for Kids,
• Make a class book that is inspired by the story such as, "Bad Doggy" or "Bad Bunny."
• Compare house cats to jungle cats.

More Books by Nick Bruel:

K is for Kick: A Soccer Alphabet

K is for Kick: A Soccer Alphabet (Alphabet Books) by Brad Herzog

• Make flags to represent some of the World Cup Teams.
• Learn some World Cup Facts in this quiz from National Geographic for Kids; older kids may be able to take the quiz independently.
• At the easel or art table, provide white paper cut in circles. Encourage children to design their own soccer balls.
• More World Cup Activities such as 100 Facts About the World Cup, The 2010 World Cup Anthem, Soccer Dictionary, and a ton of other links from Teacher Planet.
• Still more World Cup activities from Activity Village, a UK site.
• Get a soccer ball and learn some easy soccer moves or try these inflatable soccer balls ($9.99 per dozen) from Oriental Trading.
• Learn about South Africa in these BBC Learning Zone Clips.
• Check out these Soccer Printables from Kaboose.
• Compare American Football with Football (i.e. soccer). For example:
• Similarities: both sports use a ball; both players wear a uniform; both sports have a goal; etc.
• Differences: one ball is round, the other is oblong; you can use your hands in football but not in soccer; players wear helmets in football; etc.

More Soccer Books: