Literacy Tips

Library Time
Discover your local library

1. There are an estimated 122,611 libraries of all kinds in the United States today. Chances are there is one within easy access of your home. If you are not sure where the closest branch is, check in your local phone book under Libraries.
2. Get a library card: Library cards are generally free to those living in the library's service area. In most cases, borrowing privileges are granted on the spot. Some libraries may require some form of identification from an adult.
3. Librarians are glad to help you and your family. Librarians are experts at answering questions and helping kids connect with books to appeal to their special interests. Be sure to meet the librarian and encourage kids to ask for help.
4. Many school and public libraries make computers available for public use. Feel free to ask for assistance. Kids who aren't computer savvy and literate could feel lost in the 21st century. Help your kid explore new technology. It's probably new to you too.
5. Libraries offer books, magazines, computers, software and other multimedia materials for your use. You can also borrow books, stories and songs on tape to play in the car, while brushing teeth, before nap or bedtime. Check out videos.
6. Libraries often have a variety of programs to stimulate an interest in reading and learning. Preschool story hours expose young kids to the joy of reading, while homework centers provide computers for older children after school. Ask about your library.
7. Be a role model. Let your kid see you reading at home or at the library. Make reading fun. When something is fun, kids love to do it. Set aside a special read aloud time for the whole family. Show them you're getting books from the library too.
8. As their reading skills improve, have your kids read to you.
9. Keep a list of questions your child asks you. Take it with you to the library. Let your kid check out what interests them, not just what you think they should read. Make a special place for their books at home, where they can be easily reached.
10. Remind them when it's time to return the books. It's also a great way to teach sharing.

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Around the House
Make your home book-friendly

1. Make a special place at home for reading and writing. Spend regular time with your kid in the reading space.
2. Find a well lit, quiet corner with comfortable seating. If you don't have the extra space, set aside a regular time for the kitchen table, or some other area, to become that space.
3. Hang fun pictures (you can get some in our section or your local library) and your kid's artwork and writing.
4. Work with your kid to come up with a name for the library and make signs, library cards and bookmarks.
5. Designate an area as the "library shelves" with bookshelves or some other means of shelving books.
Always keep writing materials (paper, pens, pencils, markers, crayons) available and within easy reach.
7. Make your kid a co-librarian and together start building your library with new, used or donated books.
8. Over time, stock the library with a range of books your kid will enjoy and find meaningful, including age appropriate books about your kid's hobbies and interests, family background and local area.
9. Use the space in other ways related to reading and writing. Play "Pretend Library" with your kid, and take turns being the librarian or visitor.
10. Invite special guests like family members and friends into the library. Have guest readings of your kid's favorite books or have guests bring their favorite childhood books to share.

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En Route
Find out how airports and railway stations are great places for literacy games

1. Read the names on the arrivals board. Look on a map to find those places.
2. Look at the people around you and imagine things about them. Be silly. Do they have hairy legs? Is that briefcase full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Is that person really on a cell phone, or are they shaving their ears with an electric razor?
3. Compare the time it is now to the times on the board.
4. Read all of the signs around you, especially ones that are just symbols. What do the symbols mean? What would be a way to make symbols for other things, like "No Running!" or "Hopping Hen Here!"?
5. Read the travel leaflets together and plan a fantasy vacation.
6. Look at the cities or countries listed on the destination board and talk about what life is like in those other places. What do the kids there do for fun? What's the weather like? What names are popular there? If you don't know the answers, guess!
7. Pretend to be an announcer on the public address system. Hold your nose and say things that noone can really understand, and see if the others can guess what you're saying. Take turns, otherwise your eyes might water too much from holding your nose.
8. Think of all the things you'd like to do when you get back home. Write a list.
9. Imagine you had to travel around collecting things with different letters. What would you collect if you had to get one thing beginning with A, then B, etc.? Or what if you had to get things starting with the letter T from Texas or Tacoma?
10. Check out our tips for playing games while waiting in line and our many Anywhere Games.

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At the Mail Slot
Make the most of junk mail

1. Cut out letters and whole words, and practice reading them.
2. Make up your own newspaper headlines by pasting words together on a new piece of paper.
3. Make a mosaic out of pictures and words, based on a specific theme. Cut out pictures that match a theme, like clothes, and then make a shirt-shaped picture by sticking them together in that shape. Add in clothing words, like "shirt" or "socks."
4. Look for something specific, like pictures of animals.
5. Make paper hats or airplanes. Experiment with ways to make them. Search the Web for instructions. The book 'Curious George Rides a Bike' also shows how to make a boat out of newspaper.
6. Cut out pictures of products so you can play shop with them. Use this as an opportunity to learn about the names of different coins.
7. Make up your own advertisements. If you invented something, how would you describe it in a catalog to make people want to buy it?
8. Play "I Spy" by opening a catalog full of pictures and taking turns looking for small objects in the picture. Or look for things in the whole catalog that begin with each letter of the alphabet.
9. Talk about how paper is made from trees. Talk about other things around them that are made in unusual ways. Could they guess that gasoline and plastic are related? Or even wool and sheep? Sand and glass?
10. What's the best thing to do with junk mail? Recycle it!

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In the Kitchen
Turn kids' cooking into fun with reading and writing

1. Cook together and chat while you do. Have some one-on-one time with your kid while you're doing something you had to do anyway. The kitchen is a really good place to get involved with your kid, and to give them enjoyable tasks to do.
2. Read a recipe together. Plan a grocery list. Collect any coupons you can find. Shop together. Put the groceries away. Cook!
3. Read! There are lots of great kid-friendly cookbooks including "Kids Cooking - A Very Slightly Messy Manual," published by Klutz Press, and "What To Feed Your Toddler," published by Smithmark.
4. Make your own menus. Write down some favorite meals on paper, with appetizer, main course, and dessert. Or help your kids create a menu for a special meal to let guests or family members know what's for dinner.
5. Make place labels with everyone's name. You can make these out of simple rectangles of scrap paper, or you can print some from the ZOOMparty section of the ZOOM Web site.
6. ZOOM also has great kids recipes, all written by kids. You'll find those at CafeZOOM. These have all been written by kids, and contain simple, printable instructions.
7. Serve alphabet soup and see what words they can make. Or use carrot sticks, celery or kidney beans to make words on your kids' plates. Can they spell their name in an edible way?
8. Read food labels and talk about nutrition. Eat from the main food groups every day, unless their doctor advises otherwise: Breads, Grains and Cereals; Fruit and Vegetables; Meat or its alternatives, for protein; Dairy or its alternatives, for calcium.
9. Make at least one meal a day when you can all sit down together and talk about your day. Conversation builds vocabulary and togetherness.
10. Eat breakfast! Studies prove that kids with a good breakfast inside them are healthier, and learn better in schools. Cereals, milk, juice, and fruit can all be part of a healthful start to the day.

Next: Writing
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