“How – do you -wokka-wokka?” author Elizabeth Bluemle chanted rhythmically to the beat of a drum. Kids at the Bobbin Mill apartment complex danced, shimmied and shook maracas as she continued,” I wokka-wokka like flamingos in a flocka- croackie-yocka, leggy-longy, pinky hoppa-hoppa…” Elizabeth’s performance was the perfect antidote for the muggy, drizzly summer evening. The … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / How You Can Help
About a week ago, a big box arrived at our office. With everything from Captain Underpants to an illustrated Secret Garden, it was overflowing with beautiful, brand-new children’s books. Thanks to a successful bookdrive by Bud and Bella’s Bookshop of Randolph, Vermont, we now have 50 books to add to our library! Today I spoke … Continued
1) If you fall asleep while reading you don’t miss anything. 2) It’s quiet. 3) You can do it ANYWHERE including places with no cell service, electricity, wifi, or satellite transmission. 4) It’s private, just you and the author linking minds and ideas. 5) It’s free with a library card, and sometimes … Continued
Nine months ago I sent my newly minted kindergartener off to school with a fresh set of markers, perfectly pointy crayons, a brand new clean lunchbox, and an excitement to be a part of something bigger, a community of kids with their own job and a place to do it. She was nervous and thrilled. And … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
With the promise of summer weather on the horizon, I’ve started to contemplate fun ways to bring our reading outdoors on warm, sunny days. Luckily with the world of Pinterest and creative blogs, I found a wealth of ideas for summer literacy activities. Unfortunately, children that don’t read and write during the summer months experience … Continued
Did you ever wonder what story your book collection tells about you? We recently had a This is Your Life experience when our basement flooded and our 22 year old son’s stashed belongings exploded into our living space. His high school bedroom had been in our basement, so he had bookshelves of titles – plus … Continued
General / CLiF Spotlight / How You Can Help
Got a “summer reader” in your life? How would he or she like a bundle of brand new books to read on the beach, at the playground, in a treehouse, or anywhere inviting this summer? Enter our Summertime Reading Contest on Facebook for a chance to win 15 brand new books and give other children … Continued
The new Common Core Standards, have recently been adopted by 46 of the 50 states and will begin to be implemented in Vermont and New Hampshire in the coming school year. These standards, initiated by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, are internationally benchmarked and intended to raise the … Continued
As CLiF develops longer-lasting and more in-depth initiatives such as our Year of the Book and Community Literacy programs, we are also helping towns and schools sustain their literacy efforts after their CLiF grant is over. To that end, on May 1 we held our first annual CLiF Community Literacy Conference in St. Johnsbury, VT. … Continued
I could start by telling you about the beautiful view of Lake Champlain from our corner table. I could then tell you about the endless performances, exhibits, and activities for kids taking place all day. I could tell you about the throngs of children – of all ages – gathered around our table eagerly awaiting … Continued
“What if our house was like a giant swimming pool and we could swim all day, even when we were eating? And we had a pet dolphin instead of a dog?” “Hmmm. That would be cool.” “Mom, what if our car could fly and we could fly right over all the other cars so we … Continued
To dogs everywhere! Nobody captures the sweetness and humor of the family dog better than Vermont author Stephen Huneck. His work is a celebration of what it is to love and be loved by a dog. While the title character of Huneck’s books is his own black lab, Sally, the star of the show is … Continued
Amidst a sea of bustling children, adorable little ones in strollers and Ergo carriers, and mamas-to-be looking radiant and curious, Julia and I set up a table at the Good Beginnings First Annual Baby and Child Expo to talk with parents about reading to their children from the get-go. Good Beginnings of Central Vermont is … Continued
General / Book Recommendations
If you have ever had a small child living in your home, chances are there are several Dr. Seuss books lying around. He is, after all, the best-selling children’s author of all time. Did you ever notice, though, that there are two different types Dr. Seuss books? Quite frankly, until recently, I did not. In 1937, … Continued
My girls are trying to figure out life by living, learning, testing, playing, fighting, and reading. Reading is the cool trick we do every night before bed. After a long day of living, learning, testing, playing and fighting, it’s like a much needed form of therapy, but the relaxing, entertaining variety (if there is such … Continued
Photo credit: http://www.blog.thehoya.com/i-got-a-pocket-got-a-pocket-full-of-poems/ That’s right. Find your favorite poem (even one you wrote), scribble it on a piece of paper, and put it in your pocket when you get dressed tomorrow morning. Thursday, April 18 is national Poem in Your Pocket Day, and we’d love for you to join us as we celebrate here at the … Continued
Book Recommendations / How You Can Help
I imagine a long time ago, cavemen and women gave their cave children some food, whatever it may have been, and those cave children duly ate it. Task accomplished. Done. Now everyone start looking for more. Here in America in 2013 things are a might bit different. Just a might. Now that we live in … Continued
CLiF Spotlight / How You Can Help
Queen City Ghostwalk, the Burlington company that has, for over a decade, provided haunted history tours to locals and visitors, has found a delightfully creepy way to celebrate National Poetry Month. On Thursday, April 18th, they will present Fright by Candelight, an evening of dark poetry to benefit CLiF! The program will take include readings from well-known … Continued
CLiF has served over 350,000 children since 1998.