Rock ‘n’ Read at your Library this Summer!
As the school year comes to a close and life begins to slow down a bit for some, public libraries everywhere are gearing up for their busiest time of the year: the summer reading program.
What’s New
Inclusive New Reads
As we lean into the warmth of the changing seasons, I am excited to share some important new picture books on shelves now, or arriving very soon. These books are for the kids on the margins, and also for the rest of us learning how to be their best allies. The messages conveyed in these … Continued
CLiF’s Community Literacy Conference
Annually, CLiF invites past, present, and recently-accepted Year of the Book partners to attend the CLiF Community Literacy Conference. The main goal of the conference is to connect teachers, librarians, and administrators with ideas for making their Year of the Book fun and for continuing the momentum the grant generates. This year’s conference agenda included sessions on diversity … Continued
Building Books in Real Time
Hello out there gang….. I’m excited to have you all join me one way or another. I’ve built my last 2 books with my own readers, yup, in “real time,” too. What I mean by that is teachers and students have been following me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter when I’m out in the field … Continued
The Power of Poetry
April is National Poetry Month, a time to celebrate poetry in all its forms. Many schools and programs take advantage of this month to launch poetry units and special events. Towns such as Montpelier, VT celebrate with Poem City, a city-wide initiative that posts poetry all over public spaces and celebrates poets with readings and … Continued
Spend April 19, 2018 with CLiF
How will you spend April 19, 2018? Maybe you will celebrate National Bicycle Day (we wish we could!), National D.A.R.E Day, or National Garlic Day. At CLiF, we will celebrate a big day of bringing kids together with books, community, authors/illustrators/storytellers, and having fun in school, the library, or at another favorite out-of-school-time place. So, … Continued
Encourage Your Child to Develop New Hobbies
Do we know what our children are extraordinary at, other than their academic curricula? That is where we, as parents, need to excel.
A Reading Specialist’s Tips: How to Help Kids with Writing
Successful writers understand the difference between strong and weak writing, and use that knowledge to create stronger drafts.
If You’re a Parent…With an Aspiring Reporter
Good news for my fourth grade daughter – for the latest semester of school, she has been appointed a member of the school’s “Awesome Reporters.” This group of students picks topics of interest to them and the student body and puts together articles with photos that are posted in school and sent to the local … Continued
The Importance of Reading Bedtime Stories To Your Child Before Sleep
Once upon a time, there was a parent who had a child. For one reason or another, this parent didn’t read to their child. Why? We’re not sure. Perhaps that’s a different story – one that involves excuses like “being too tired” or wanting to binge-watch Friends for the eleventh time because they’re deeply unsatisfied with … Continued
CLiF Turns 20!
The Children’s Literacy Foundation (“CLiF”) has been inspiring a love of reading and writing among low-income, at-risk, and rural kids in Vermont and New Hampshire for 20 years! In that time, we’ve served more then 225,000 kids in 400+ communities and given away nearly $6 million in children’s books! Last week, we celebrated this milestone … Continued
After 20 Years, CLiF Has Just Begun
Twenty years ago this week the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) was born. Like all new nonprofits, we started small. Our first initiative was the Rural Library Program. We created it to provide collections of new, high-quality children’s books to rural public libraries in New Hampshire or Vermont that were struggling with limited resources, and that … Continued
Spotlight on the CLiF Year of the Book
We’re a little more than halfway through the school year, and, for ten schools in Vermont and New Hampshire this year, the CLiF Year of the Book, which promotes a celebration of reading and writing all year long. As we welcome National Reading Month, which kicks off with Read Across America Day on March 2nd (beloved … Continued
Books to Help Kids Deal with Bullying
It’s no secret that bullying and cyberbullying is an issue facing many of our children.
How to Help with Reading: A Reading Specialist’s Tips
When is it time to start working on reading skills? Right now.
The Interesting Connection between Literacy and Behavior in Children
People are getting more enlightened today with the help of literacy. Without literacy, we wouldn’t be able to shape meaning out of the world. That is why it is so important to continue fighting for the increase of literacy for everyone. In the case of children, literacy isn’t just about understanding things and expressing opinions. … Continued
7 Ways Reading Improves Emotional Intelligence
Here are some of the ways in which reading can improve emotional intelligence in readers of any age.
Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2018
Multicultural Children’s Book Day (1/27/18) is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Its mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.