CLiF would like to introduce or re-introduce you to Marty Kelley of New Boston, NH. Marty’s books and presentations bring together his sense of humor and his degrees in art, animation, and elementary education. Things to think about: How do you describe Marty’s art and/or his style? Marty writes and illustrates his own books and illustrates … Continued
Writing can be a miraculous activity that thrills both authors and readers from all over the world. Almost everyone starts writing at one point in life because somehow it just feels natural to express your thoughts and feelings in the textual form. But not everyone is capable of writing uniquely. It takes a genuine master … Continued
CLiF would like to introduce or re-introduce you to Marv Klassen-Landis of Windsor, VT. Marv uses stories, writing, and theater to help kids and adults learn more about themselves. Marv is a co-founder of the Children’s Voices Theater. Watch a clip of Marv’s presentation from CLiF’s Virtual Author’s Series here. CLiF created the outline below … Continued
CLiF would like to introduce or re-introduce you to Jan Reynolds of Stowe, VT. Jan travels the world, living with people of different cultures, and uses her photographs to illustrates books about people, their culture and traditions. CLiF created the outline below to help students of all ages think about her books. Jan grew up in … Continued
The CLiF team is thrilled to welcome our new Data/Office Manager, Kat Lane! While it may be an unusual time to start a new endeavor, Kat is up to the challenge and is already learning the ropes to help keep CLiF running smoothly. She’ll maintain our donor database and finances and perform administrative tasks to … Continued
CLiF would like to introduce or re-introduce you to Eric Pinder of Berlin, NH. Eric writes books and teaches writing in Vermont and New Hampshire. CLiF created the outline below to help students of all ages think about his books. Eric’s lifelong interest in science and nature led him to live on top of Mount Washington, … Continued
CLiF staff and presenters are saddened that COVID-19 means we can not visit camps, libraries, and out-of-school-time programs for our traditional Summer Readers program. While we will still send books to partner programs, we will offer your campers, students, and children the chance to interact live with our presenters who will present from their home. … Continued
CLiF would like to introduce or re-introduce you to Ashley Wolff of Leicester, VT. Ashley is the author and/or illustrator of over 65 books, including the beloved Miss Bindergarten series! CLiF created the outline below to help students of all ages think about her art and writing. Ashley both writes and illustrates her own stories and … Continued
Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels On a given day, a child may endure an argument with a friend, a disapproving remark from a teacher, a bad grade, or any other number of discouraging experiences. As a parent, you want your child to move past these experiences, learn from them, and maintain a positive outlook. … Continued
We asked kids 12 & under in New Hampshire and Vermont to reimagine their favorite fairy tales in keeping with the Collaborative Summer Learning Program’s 2020 theme: “Imagine Your Story.” We were impressed by all of the creative “fractured fairy tales” we received! Stories included “Humpty Mumpty,” who puts the king’s men together again, the … Continued
People often tend to keep the status quo even if there are proven ways to improve their skills or knowledge. Literacy is definitely one area many individuals can work on, particularly if you know that it represents a fundamental asset in the 21st century. Despite the steady rise in literacy rates over the past 50 … Continued
As a parent, you already know how important reading is to children. Studies have shown that the attitude of a child towards reading and learning is the strongest indicator of how well he or she will do in school, regardless of their economic or social background. Studies have also shown that children who read for … Continued
It’s never been more important for all kids to have access to books. Kids who are not reading this summer could lose valuable literacy skills. With many schools, summer programs, and libraries closed or virtual, many children (especially low-income children) don’t have access to reading materials. They are at risk of falling behind in literacy, … Continued
Right now, it feels difficult to even try to plan beyond the end of the week, but ahead lies 10 weeks of summer. As we as parents, educators, librarians, program leaders, and caregivers try to envision ways to make summer feel like summer for our kids, while processing COVID-19 and effects of systemic racism, CLiF … Continued
What if the witch’s house in Hansel and Gretel was made of vegetables instead of candy? What if the Big Bad Wolf wasn’t so bad? What if your favorite fairy tales were different? Reimagine classic stories for CLiF’s “Fractured Fairy Tales” writing contest for kids! This summer’s Collaborative Summer Library Program’s theme is Imagine Your … Continued
CLiF’s Year of the Book program is designed to increase enthusiasm for reading and writing among low-income, at-risk, and rural kids, improve schools’ literacy efforts, increase family engagement in reading and writing, and create a community-wide culture of literacy. Each year, we award the grant to five elementary schools in New Hampshire and five schools … Continued
With many schools shut for the foreseeable future, children are now spending more time than ever at home. This can be challenging for parents who are unequipped for such an unusual task. Luckily, we have some tips and suggestions for keeping you and you child going. Start A New Project Starting a new project with … Continued
CLiF staff and presenters are saddened that COVID-19 means we can not visit schools, libraries, and out-of-school-time programs to complete our exciting grants. Instead, we offer your students the chance to interact live with our presenters from home. For five weeks starting May 5, each Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. EST, we will have an opportunity … Continued
CLiF has served over 350,000 children since 1998.