To everyone working hard on behalf of our kids: thank you. Thank you for all that you do, despite and because of another year starting with COVID overlays and challenges.

CLiF has open grants – we acknowledge that grant writing might not fit with the current demands on all educators’ time, but the applications are relatively simple and the grants provide an infusion of joy and fun. (You are doing this already, let us help!) Remember the wonder adults can find in a favorite children’s book; find inspiring program ideas; learn about exhaustion and decision making, and how to overcome it; and more about the state of Vermont and New Hampshire children. As always, let us know how we can aid your program in connecting kids with books, writing, and fun.

FOR EVERYONE

• How music builds literacy skills – using the Library of Congress Voices Remembering Slavery Collection and the benefits of listening to (and sharing) your favorite sad song
• Art class as an oasis and building visual literacy
• Why PE matters
• Benefits of reading to an animal; and kids love non-fiction
• New Hampshire children have chosen Snail Crossing by Corey R. Tabor as the winner of the 2021 Ladybug Picture Book Award
• Educator, author and artist Karen Gross shares her insights into and advice on writing and illustrating children’s books whether through self-illustration or the use of “outside” illustrators. Attend Karen’s free Zoom lecture to learn more about her and her process on February 3, 5:30 to 6. Sign up for a three-part class with Karen (February 10, 17, 24; 5 -6:30 PM). Sign up here.
• How to talk to parents of young kids about the COVID vaccine – Johns Hopkins free training
• How to nurture lifelong readers in a digital age
• Intuition v science about what works when teaching reading and writing
• When we’re exhausted, our brains try to save energy by going with our gut or choosing the easiest solution. It’s called expediency bias and this Harvard Business Review article has advice on overcoming it.
• Reading Diversity: A Tool for Selecting Diverse Texts — This guidance document from Learning for Justice “supports a multi-dimensional approach to text selection, and includes considerations that help educators prioritize text complexity, critical literacy and cultural responsiveness.”

FOR TEACHERS

• Author study toolkit; use a CLiF presenter!!
• Primary sources on Black History
• 5 ways to build student excitement about writing – use a lesson on word choice?
• Tips for teaching writing fluency K-5
• Applications are now open for Identity and Multilingualism through Picture Books: A 2022 NEH Summer Institute Designed for K-3 Educators! The institute is co-sponsored with Bowdoin College’s Multilingual Mainers and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
• 3 minute de-stressing activity

FOR LIBRARIANS

• Libraries changing their communities – ideas from funded grants
• Hiring a social worker for the library
• Summer Reading – Not Just for the Summer! By: Elizabeth Boggs, Assistant Branch Manager, Katherine Tyra Branch Library, Houston, TX. Want to drum up interest for your summer reading program? Try hosting a reading program in the winter! By hosting a reading challenge in the winter, we draw attention to the library’s reading programs year-round. It can be a great way to engage regular summer reading participants and remind patrons that another reading challenge will start in the summer!
• Summer reading programs pegged to help catch students up
• Research – libraries and families have a stronger bond due to COVID

FOR PARENTS

• Helping kids slow down when they read
• Parenting programs that helps build strong community members in kids and adults
• Inspire your kids! – 5 tips for learning new things in the new year
• Correlation between learning to brush teeth and developing perseverance
• Understanding the difference between being a late reader and possible learning issues
• Day to day activities, such as creating grocery lists, build literacy skills and comfort; practice in the car

FOR EARLY EDUCATORS

• Research on play as crucial to learning and mental health
• 3 SEL lessons to use every day
• Interactive books to share with restless readers
• Webinar: Our Earliest Learners — and their Caregivers
• Special Report: Afterschool in America’s Rural Communities

PROGRAM IDEAS

• Writing prompt: What would the world look like in 20 years? 5th graders respond
• Mindfulness: Mindful Movements for teaching neurodiverse students; 1 minute breathing video proved to reduce stress in kids’ bodies; Engaging Mindfully Outdoors: Activities and Strategies for Kids; Outdoor Mindfulness Activities
• 2022 reading log ideas
• I See You.
• Gratitude Letters
• Use the best science photos of 2021 
• Literature circles
• Create a book vending machine
• One sentence stories

CONNECT WITH JAN REYNOLDS

Hello teachers and Librarians….

Award winning author, me, Jan Reynolds is off on another adventure, and I need your help creating the next book. Students around the globe were given 3 choices of adventures in Asia, Africa and India, and voted to send me to create a book about the Bajau people. I’m is on social media on Tuesdays and Thursdays letting followers know what I’m doing, and asking for your advice as I put the project together.

Twitter: jreynoldsauthor

Instagram: janreynoldsphotos

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jan.reynolds.71619

There is also a free book on my you tube channel:  jreynoldsproductions (It is in video form, click pause in lower left to pause on any page as long as you like) 

See you soon on social!! Jan