Category: Growing Readers Tips

Growing Readers Tips, Special Days/Weeks/Months

Books About Earth Day, and Growing Readers Tip

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Earth Day is coming up soon! Let’s use books to help our children to care about this very important topic.

Picture Books to Celebrate Earth Day

45 Earth Day Books for Kids Who Care About Our Planet

Book cover for The Rainforest Book from the Conservation for Kids series as an example of earth day books for kids

10 Earth Day Books For Kids

Children’s Books for Earth Day

Engaging children with picture books on Earth Day.

GROWING READERS TIP- WE ALL HAVE A STORY

 

We all have stories to tell. There is probably a birthday you remember, an accident you had, or a special trip you took. This content makes for great storytelling with your little ones. When you share a story from your personal timeline, you are not only spreading that history to your child, but you are helping to build vocabulary, enhancing language skills, and modeling story structure. Share a few stories from your past or your child’s past this week.

 

TAKE AWAY:  STORIES CAN COME FROM MY OWN LIFE. 

Events, Growing Readers Tips

Upcoming Scholastic Book Fair, Growing Readers Tip

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Junior Flyer

Download Junior Highlights Flyer Spring PDF

Senior Flyer

Download Senior Highlights Flyer Spring PDF

Get ready for the Scholastic Book Fair, HHCS! It will be held the week of April 2-5, including availability during Student-Led Conferences. Please let me know if you might be able to volunteer! Email Mrs. Baillargeon at L.Baillargeon@hh-cs.org.

 

GROWING READERS TIP:

 

Yes, we can build reading skills when we are shuttling kids between school and home or sports practice and the grocery store. Try one or more of these ideas this week while driving around town with your child.

 

  • Listen to an audiobook or podcast.
  • Brainstorm together about how many words begin with a certain sound.
  • Look for letters on billboards, signs, and buildings.
  • Play a category game. Name a category such as ‘fruit’ and then brainstorm words that fit in that category. 

TAKE AWAY: Play a reading game or listen to an audiobook in the car this week. 

 

 

 

Building Belonging- diversity, Growing Readers Tips, Special Days/Weeks/Months

Black History Month, Growing Readers Tip

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February is Black History month! Here are some of the newest books that your kids might enjoy reading related to this theme.

The Hockey Skates

A boy opens a box that has a golden glow. Hockey memorabilia litters his room.

My Name is Henry Bibb

A book cover that shows a drawing of a man wearing a suit in front of a yellow identification card and a green-coloured background. There is brown and red text overlay that is the book's title and author's name.

I Am Big

A book cover that shows a young Black hockey player standing on top of a globe that's made of ice. He is holding a hockey stick and smiling. There is white and orange text overlay that is the book's title and the author's name.

She Persisted: Simone Biles by Kekla Magoon and Chelsea Clinton

There Was a Party for Langston

I Am Be by Jennifer Francis Book Cover

Ron’s Big Mission

A Year of Black Joy: 52 Black Voices Share Their Life Passions

Young, Gifted and Black Too: Meet 52 More Black Icons from Past and Present image number 0

GROWING READERS TIP- KITCHEN TIME

 

Finding time to build literacy skills can be challenging. Capture a little time in the room you spend a lot of time- the kitchen. Try these ideas:

 

Have your child play with magnetic letters on the refrigerator or on a cookie sheet.

 

Create a sensory writing tray using salt and a shallow pan.

 

Send the kids to the pantry shelves for a letter or word hunt using cans and boxes.

 

Listen to your child read a book.

 

TAKE AWAY:  I can use kitchen time as literacy learning time. 

Authors, Events, Growing Readers Tips, Storywalk

Author Visits, New Storywalk, and Growing Readers Tip

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New storywalk The Library Fish is now up in our wetlands! Come and take a walk with your kids and enjoy the story out in nature!

Home

Grades 3-6 had a fantastic Zoom visit with the hilarious author Chris Grabenstein! It was especially exciting to hear that the last installment of his Lemoncello book series comes out this fall! Many of his books are available at our HHCS library.

Kindergarten – Grade 3’s author visit was with Forest of Reading award nominee Lindsay Zier-Vogel! We loved having her read her book, Dear Street, to us and hearing about her love lettering project. Grade 1-2 adapted her project to write letters of appreciation to different areas of our school! I already found one in the library and am looking forward to seeing more around the school! Untitled design - 1

GROWING READERS TIP:

There is a lot of wait time during sports practices, music lessons, and club meetings. Carry along a book or two for these opportunities. Your child can look at books on their own or with siblings and friends. 

 

Take away: Pack a few books in the practice bag. 

Apps and websites, Events, Family Literacy, Growing Readers Tips

Britannica School, Reading Review Challenge, and Growing Readers Tip

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Did you know that we have a school subscription to Britannica School? It is an amazing resource! Check it out here at https://school.eb.com/levels. The username and password are both hhcs. Encyclopedia Britannica Logo

Britannica School can be an amazing homework helper! It has different reading levels available for each article, so that you can tier the information to the level that your student is at. It has a read-aloud feature and can translate to other languages as well! You can use Britannica ImageQuest to find rights-cleared images that can be used for reports. Britannica is a safe way for our kids to search the internet for what they need and is fun to use! It has at-a-glance collections of information on various topics, a Canada At a Glance section, early elementary fundamentals for grades K-2, news stories of the day, an online atlas, and a compare countries tool. Check out this article here for a guided tour for parents. britannicaeducation.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Britannica-School-Guided-Tour-For-Parents.pdf

GROWING READERS TIP: (From GrowingBookbyBook.com)

 

Helping your child feel like reading is one of their special super powers early on is important. Noticing aloud when your child does things such as selects a book, talks about a story, enjoys a read-aloud, notices things in a book, talks about a story, enjoys a read-aloud, notices things in a book, or perhaps even reads, helps your child feel like he/she is living a readerly life. 

 

Try these prompts this week as you notice your child living a readerly life.

 

“You have a real superpower for ____________.”

“You did ___________________, which is something that strong readers do.”

 

TAKE AWAY: I can help my child discover their inner reading superpower. 

Events, Family Literacy, Growing Readers Tips, Storywalk

New Storywalk, Growing Readers tip, and Book Character Potato Contest

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The new Storywalk is up! Check out “I Hear You, Forest” by Kallie George out in our school wetlands and forest. Follow the signs in order, read the story, and do the activities at each stop. Check out my previous Storywalk posts to learn more. This could be a great after school activity with your kids!

I’m looking forward to receiving the Book Character potatoes from the students this week! Use the search bar on the blog to check out previous posts about this contest from 2 years ago!

GROWING READERS TIP- DO YOU LIKE TO HAVE FUN?

 

We all like to have fun. We often remember content associated with times of having fun and being playful. That holds true for learning too. Weaving learning through play is one of the most powerful means of helping kids learn. 

 

Take away: Learning happens through play. 

Building Belonging- diversity, Growing Readers Tips, Special Days/Weeks/Months

Orange Shirt Day on Friday

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On the left is an orange picture book cover with a woman holding a child. On the right is a photo of the author who has short gray and black hair and is wearing an orange Every child matters shirt.

New Orange Shirt Day Book – CBC

I Am Not a Number

Strongnations.com

You Hold Me Up

Orcabook.com

When I Was Eight

Annickpress.com

HHCS will be observing Orange Shirt Day, the day of Truth and Reconciliation, on Friday, September 29. We look forward to seeing the students dressed in orange! We will have an assembly and will do a school-wide activity based on the book With Our Orange Hearts. Try out one of these books to help explain the significance of the day to your child.

GROWING READERS TIP- WIGGLE WIGGLE

 

Little ones like to move around during read-alouds and that doesn’t mean there is a problem. In fact, it’s pretty normal. Kids are still able to absorb language and vocabulary as they move around the room. Here are a few tips to engage your child with books:

 

Choose books that match your child’s attention span and interest.

Ask engaging questions that invite your child to engage with the story. 

Let your child play with blocks or play dough to help with focus.

 

Take Away:  My child can move AND listen during a story. 

Family Literacy, Growing Readers Tips

Books for September, Terry Fox, and Finding Pockets of Time to Read

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Here are some picture books that I recommend for September!

HHCS Terry Fox Walk: Fri. Sept. 22nd

Each student is asked to bring in a Toonie for Terry (or more if desired!)  Parents and community members are welcome to join us as we walk through the neighbourhood beginning at 2:40. Meet in our playground behind the portables between the Laneway and Soccer post.   

A donation page has also been set up for HHCS. All funds collected will be forwarded to the Terry Fox Foundation for cancer research and support – https://schools.terryfox.ca/HaltonHillsChristianSchoolGeorgetown

Learn a bit more about Terry with this Canadian Heritage Minute!

As we begin a new school year, please read this article from Growing Book by Book- Finding Pockets of Time to Read.

Finding time to read with kids

Helping Families Find Pockets of Time to Read With Kids

 

Family Literacy, Growing Readers Tips

HHCS Summer Reading Program, and Public Library Resources for Summer

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I can’t believe there are only 2 weeks left of school this year! This will be my last blog post for the year and I wanted to highlight our school Summer Reading program. Make a copy of this slideshow here with your child’s name in it- eg. “Bobby’s 2023 Summer Reading.” Summer Reading 2023

In the slideshow you will find some photo challenges, eg. “take a picture of yourself reading at a park.” If your child completes at least 9 of the 12 reading challenges, he/she will receive an HHCS Seal at the end of year Awards Assembly. What counts as reading? Reading individually, reading with a family member, reading books, reading articles- you decide! When the challenge is completed, email it to me, Mrs. Baillargeon, at l.baillargeon@hh-cs.org.

GROWING READERS TIP- GET AND USE A LIBRARY CARD

A library card is free and you can use thousands and thousands of resources in and out of the public library at no cost to you. Your child can get his/her own library card too. It’s a great way to teach a child about responsibility and to help him/her discover a whole new world in books. 

20+ Engaging Summer Reading Ideas

Check out this amazing resource from Growing Book by Book for more ideas to keep your kids engaged in reading this summer!

Halton Hills Public Library Logo

Here is a link to a list of fun things going on at the Halton Hills Public Library this summer!

https://calendar.hhpl.ca/default/Month?StartDate=07/01/2023

Link to special collections– you can borrow more than books at the library- check out all these options!

https://www.hhpl.ca/en/borrow/special-collections.aspx

https://www.hhpl.ca/en/news/sensory-collection-turns-one.aspx

You can even book a librarian to help you learn how to use things in the creativity centre!

https://www.hhpl.ca/en/visit/creativity-centre.aspx

And finally, the Summer Reading Club!

https://hhpl.beanstack.org/reader365

https://www.tdsummerreadingclub.ca/about_the_club

 

Events, Growing Readers Tips, Storywalk

Storywalk Installment

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Have you done your book fair shopping yet? Support HHCS and get amazing prices at the same time! It’s so easy to shop with Spark Book Fairs. (formerly Book Outlet.) Visit the landing page here- https://sparkbookfairs.ca/organization/HHCS-bRRttcF6Qssr

Books will be delivered to your home!

Last day to take AR tests is Thursday June 8! Don’t be late!

L

Our first Storywalk installation is complete! A Storywalk combines nature, physical activity, and literacy for a fun event. Our first Storywalk features vignettes written by Grade 6 about their ‘Grandpals’ who mentored them this year. Coming up in the new school year, our HHCS Storywalk will feature books written by other classes, and picture books by well-known authors- cut apart with each Storywalk stop featuring a couple of the pages. Each stop also has activity ideas- discussion questions, action ideas, things to notice in nature, etc. If you are at HHCS, take a walk around our wetlands and enjoy our Storywalk at the same time! Thank you SO much to Mr. Jarvis, our vice-principal, for helping me to envision and plan out how this project could be done, and to Mr. Tosh for physically making all of the Storywalk stops with the help of volunteers! We are looking forward to enjoying Storywalks at HHCS for years to come.

GROWING READERS TIP- CATCH ME READING

 

Modeling reading in front of your child teaches a powerful lesson that we all read for different purposes. Challenge your child to find times they catch you reading. Make a point to have books you are reading in a variety of rooms. 

 

Take away: I am a powerful reading role model for my child.