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
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
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
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
It’s no secret that bullying and cyberbullying is an issue facing many of our children.
When is it time to start working on reading skills? Right now.
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
Here are some of the ways in which reading can improve emotional intelligence in readers of any age.
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.
As the father of 4 wonderful kids, I understand how important it is for them to be outside, burning energy and exploring the world around them. Not to mention, it helps keep the house a little more tidy and gives us parents some time to catch up on our favorite show or book or whatever … Continued
Educators want parents to prepare their children and teens for school by sharing a love for learning, the attitude that learning more is important, and the expectation that all children can become successful in school. How to do this?
We have created the following survival guide featuring 7 indoor winter games and activities for kids to keep them happy and regain a little bit of our sanity
There is nothing like the holiday season for connecting and reconnecting us to all kinds of traditions. I wrote a review of our Christmas book collection recently, and for part two, want to share some of the books I read with my daughter about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, with many thanks to our school and public … Continued
The CLiF office looked remarkably like Santa’s workshop this week as holiday tunes played in the background
There is nothing like the holiday season for connecting and reconnecting us to all kinds of traditions. Everywhere I look there are reminders of past holidays and evolving seasonal activities. These are two of my most favorite Christmas tree ornaments. When my best friend from high school and I moved to Washington, DC, after college, … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
With the call for more diverse books in the publishing business, it’s been heartening to see a small uptick in children’s books that reflect the beautiful diversity of the faces we see around us more and more each day. Heeding that call, three women in central Vermont are striving to make folks in their predominantly … Continued
We know Thanksgiving was last week, but this week at the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF) we’re feeling pretty darn thankful. We’re thankful for the many generous donors who gave 359 children’s books and dynamic literacy programming to the kids we serve for #GivingTuesday, and all our supporters who have donated so far this year. Your … Continued
“I like how you can go on adventures without even leaving your house. You can travel around the world and learn new things.” That is how a child who attended a Children’s Literacy Foundation Summer Readers event last summer described reading. To him, a book is full of adventures and new things to learn. … Continued
CLiF has served over 350,000 children since 1998.