CLiF Spotlight: Digging for Incredible Family Stories
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Articles tagged Year of the Book
CLiF Spotlight: Family Holiday Dinners, or the Best Events Ever
I love this season. I love that so many cultures have holidays this time of year, when it’s cold and the nights are darkest and we’re most in need of shared light and warmth. It’s hard to pick a favorite CLiF event, but our holiday family events for Year of the Book communities are right up … Continued
CLiF Spotlight: Party for a Cause in Hanover, NH
The party Friday, November 14 in Hanover, NH is a great example of the good that can happen when two organizations work together. The Hanover Rotary Club hosts an annual auction fundraiser and splits the proceeds with a nonprofit serving the Upper Valley. This year, the club invited CLiF to be its nonprofit partner. CLiF’s share went … Continued
General / If you're a parent and...
If you’re a parent and… it’s July 4th!
Happy July 4th! This holiday inspires me to read books about American history: presidents, symbols, battles, trivia, monuments, houses – there are some great stories! Tomorrow we’ll wrap up a day of parades, candy, fireworks, barbecues, and swimming with two of my daughter’s favorite books: Looking At Lincoln and So You Want to Be President. She read one … Continued
CLiF Spotlight: Back to Camp!
On June 25 I donned shorts and flip-flops and traveled to Bethlehem, NH to visit Copper Cannon Camp (CCC) located on 128 acres adjacent to the White Mountain National Forest.
CLiF Spotlight: Why We Love Reptiles
We love reptiles because kids love reptiles. And when third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders know they’re going to meet some snakes, you can bet they’re excited to read about snakes. Cutler School in West Swanzey, NH is a 2013-2014 CLiF Year of the Book school. Literacy teachers and Year of the Book coordinators … Continued
General / If you're a parent and...
If you’re a parent and… you’re looking up the family tree
A very talented friend of mine designs modern family trees, and when I had my child, I decided to get her one. This turned into a much bigger project than I expected. I was so thankful that family members have been collecting my family’s and my husband’s lineage. I love the design and the history in … Continued
CLiF Spotlight: Keeping Family Stories Alive
Probably most adults could not coherently discuss the differences between the 1840 and 1860 census how a daguerreotype differs from a tintype or the repercussions of the 1890 census being destroyed in a Department of Commerce fire. But the children of Island Pond and Lowell, Vermont can. Funded in part by CLiF Year of the … Continued
March 21 Friday Links Library
Happy Spring! Kind of. Nobody’s putting their skis away around here. Lots of interesting tidbits in the news this week. Here’s the roundup: Last week, the New York Times printed op-eds by father and son authors Walter Dean Myers and Christopher Myers on why we all critically need to see children of color better represented in … Continued
Feb. 14 Friday Links Library
Valentine’s Day/Nor’easter edition! Just got in from shoveling, so let’s start with a pick-me up: Those kids reading aloud to shelter cats that went viral this week. The Animal Rescue League of Berks County, PA started a Book Buddies program when their program coordinator noticed her son preferred reading to a feline audience. From their website: … Continued
A Bag of Books Hooks a Young Reader
Reading specialists Kathryn Mullen, M.Ed. and Sue Megas-Russell, M.Ed. are the onsite coordinators for 2013-2014’s CLiF Year of the Book at Cutler Elementary School in West Swanzey, NH. Over this school year Kathryn and Sue will take turns guest blogging for CLiF. Their posts will provide insight into the creativity, attention, and heart that goes … Continued
Evidence That Pleasure Reading Matters
Last week Mediabistro’s Galleycat blog released a post with a headline that sent hearts fluttering through the CLiF office: ‘Pleasure Reading “Significantly” Increases School Performance‘ The post is in reference to a study by the Institute of Education at the University of London. From the study: “The IOE study, which is believed to be the … Continued
Capturing Small Moments: Using Technology to Tell Stories
One goal of CLiF’s Year of the Book program is to help teachers engage students with reading and writing in new and creative ways. To that end we offer mini-grants to teachers in Year of the Book schools to develop projects that meet this goal. This past school year one of my favorites came from … Continued
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Giving You the Floor: Bolstering Parental Involvement
Our excitement is ramping up for the newest Year of the Book town kickoffs, and we are thinking a lot about successes and lessons learned when looking back over our first year of offering this grant. We have been excited to hear about the burgeoning relationships between the school and the public library, the changed … Continued
The Creators of The Expeditioners Visit Students in Newbury, VT
Flight goggles firmly on their heads, Vermont author and CLiF presenter SS Taylor and New York City illustrator Katherine Roy voyaged to the Newbury Elementary School in Newbury, VT last Friday to give three presentations to all the students from Grade 1 to Grade 6 about the multi-year process they navigated to create their new epic children’s book The Expeditioners.
Books and Stock Car Racing, Together at Last
At the Highgate Apartments in Barre, VT the quiet of a recent Saturday morning ended abruptly as the unmistakable roar of a race car engine announced to all children within earshot it was time to meet Thunder Road driver Troy Kingsbury, check out his awesome car, and get some cool new books to read.
Newbury Reads! Book Trailers
Recently, the CLiF team visited Newbury Elementary School in Newbury, VT. NES is one of six elementary schools in Vermont and New Hampshire that have received CLiF’s Year of the Book grants. Year of the Book provides around $25,000 worth of fun literacy-based programs, support, and free new books for students to choose and keep … Continued
Race to Read Excites Students at Johnson Elementary School
On Monday, January 28, a few dozen students were running around the playground at Johnson Elementary School when they heard the sound of a loud engine approaching. Heads turned as a green-and-white stock car barreled down the street towards the playground, only to stop right outside the fence. Children ran over to see who it … Continued