The Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics offer an excellent opportunity to cheer on your country while practicing literacy skills. Here’s ABC Canada’s list of Olympic literacy tips and activity ideas to practice each of the 17 days of the Olympics. Go Canada!

1. Find out where the Olympic torch has travelled by looking at a map. You can practice your numeracy skills by calculating the distance travelled. A detailed map can be found here.

2. Write a note of congratulations and send it to your favourite Canadian athlete.

3. Keep track of the number of gold, silver and bronze medals won by Canadian athletes in a spreadsheet to improve numeracy and computer literacy skills.

4. Find out more about our city! Read about the Rocky Mountains and other popular tourist attractions that our Olympic guests might visit.

5. Read about interesting Olympic sports, such as bobsledding and skeleton.

6. Sing the Canadian national anthem to cheer on the teams.

7. Record all of the 2010 Olympic firsts.

8. Research information about your favourite athlete: Find out where they grew up, how they train, what their favourite food is, etc.

9. In celebration of the Winter Olympics, invite friends and family to take part in your own Olympics competition – why not hold Math Olympics!

10. Collect Olympic commemorative coins and add up your total.

11. Write trivia inspired by the Olympics. For example, Clara Hughes is the only Canadian athlete to win a medal at both the Summer and Winter Olympics – AMAZING!

12. Learn the history of the Olympics: origins, past and future host cities and then locate these host cities on a map.

13. During timed events, calculate the difference between the top athletes’ performances to improve numeracy.

14. Identify all of the colours of the Olympic rings and match each to the flag of a participating country.

15. Find out your family’s heritage and follow the progress of your ancestors’ native countries.

16. Pick a sport that you are least familiar with and read up on its rules.

17. Spell the name of one participating country that starts with each letter of the alphabet.

For more information on literacy, visit ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation’s website.

ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation is Canada’s private-sector voice championing adult literacy. The national charity’s initiatives and campaigns are focused on bringing about meaningful change to raise Canadian adult literacy skills. It envisions a Canada where individuals, regardless of their circumstances, are provided the opportunities to increase those skills that prepare people for realizing their full potential at work, at home and in the community. For the latest news and information on adult literacy please visit www.abc-canada.org.

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1. Family Literacy Day: Ways to Encourage Young Readers
2. Family Literacy Day: Early Steps of Reading
3. Family Literacy Day: Sing a Song for Literacy

According to an article titled “The Writing On The Wall,” published in Newsweek in November 2007, children think and write at the same time. “If they struggle to remember how to make their letters, their ability to express themselves will suffer.”

It seems that even in our digital age, handwriting is still essential in kids’ development.  ABC Canada is an organization that advocates family literacy and suggests that parents encourage their children to write to a relative and friend – just one of several activities that families can use to develop and use literacy skills.

Tracy Sullivan, principal and creative director of Design School Kids, founded her company in the hopes of using letter writing as both an art and skill to recapture for children in the modern age. “I feel that in the age of emails and text- and video-messaging, letter writing has become a lost art.” says Tracy, who after years of finding the “big idea” for clients while in advertising, decided to launch her own company. Young children can use the Design Schooled Kids’ Printing Note Cards to help learn printing and etiquette through the joy of old fashioned letter writing. “The Printing Note Cards are a great way to give kids a head start on learning the skills they will need throughout their lives.” says Tracy, mom of an almost four-year-old and a one-and-a-half -year-old.

Its launch timed with this year’s Family Literacy Day, Design Schooled Kids produces pre-printed cards on which children can trace dotted letters to write notes that say “Thank You”, “Hello” and “Happy Birthday” and more. There’s something refreshingly formal about the cards themselves. I adore the classic writing paper with the blue dashed and red lines – it reminds me of the joy I had when rounding out my name’s capital C as a child. The cards come in high quality card stock along with a brightly coloured envelope that are perfect for adorning with a stamp and popping into a mail box for a grandparent or friend – or just giving to someone special in your own home.

Children not only practice printing, but they also gain a sense of accomplishment as they finish the letter and mail the card themselves – and they’re also learning proper manners at an early age.

Design Schooled Kids Printing Note Cards can be found in store at Once Upon A Huckleberry Bush located at 4387 Main Street, Vancouver, or   or online at www.designschooledkids.com.

Design Schooled Kids

www.designschooledkids.com | Twitter: @designschooled

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“Singing is a great literacy activity for families because it provides a fun way to expand spoken vocabulary and creates a strong bond,” says Ashley Tilley, Communications Coordinator at ABC Canada Literacy Foundation. “Singing allows you to learn patterns of words, rhymes and rhythms, and is strongly connected to language skills.”

Have you ever heard of the “Mozart Effect?” There was a study done in 1993 that showed listening to Mozart increased the intelligence of babies and young children – which is why the shelves are stocked with classical music DVDs and CDs for kids!

One of the essential parts of learning literacy is something called “phonological awareness.” This has to do with the understanding of words being made from sounds. Your child is hearing the sounds that make up different words, which aids in not only reading but spelling, and with vocabulary development. Same goes for talking to your child – the more you can talk to them and get them involved, the better their vocabulary will grow.

Storytelling and singing songs help your child organize thoughts and words. In a story, events go from beginning to end, and usually a song is similar.

Besides popping the CD of baby tunes when you’re in the car, make up your own songs to sing with your child. Don’t worry if you don’t have a great voice – your child will just be happy to bond and interact with you. Make up silly songs as you take a walk, or make tidying up toys a fun activity with a song.

There are many great musical CDs for kids to encourage language skills. Go for favourite nursery rhymes and songs, or even old favourites like Raffi – Baby Beluga and Old McDonald. Put on CDs while your child is colouring, or while the two of you bake in the kitchen.

Use song books to encourage reading and singing. Use illustrated books of song lyrics like The More We Get Together (Glazer, 1990) or Old MacDonald Had a Farm (Rounds, 1989) to help your child make the connection between singing and reading. Repetition in both singing and reading helps your child retain language and become more familiar with the abstract symbols present in both songs and books.

Whatever activity your child is doing to master beginning reading, it’s all about enjoyment. Learning to read is not about sitting and trying to decipher strings of words. It’s about music, language, and creativity.

“Having children engage in literacy-related activities as early as possible will help them develop the necessary skills for good communication later in life,” says Tilley.

You can find out more about Family Literacy Day at ABC Canada’s site.“The ABC Canada Literacy Foundation is also encouraging families across Canada to sing at various Family Literacy Day events and help raise funds by pledging online at Family Literacy Day.,” says Tilley.

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There are various ways you can help your two- and three-year-old child on the path to developing critical reading skills, such as informal games and activities, language-based play, nursery rhymes, storytelling, reading and lullabies.
Consider these statistics on early reading skills, posted on ABC Canada’s website:

• Activities like reading and telling stories to an 18 month old help brain development (Early Years Study Final Report: Reversing the Real Brain Drain, Government of Ontario, 1999).
• Some experts say that for 80 percent of children, simple immersion in reading and books will lead to independent reading by school age (How to Make Your Child a Reader for Life, Paul Kropp, Random House Canada, 2000).

“Children aged two to three who are read to several times a day do substantially better in kindergarten at the age of four and five than those children who are read to only a few times a week or less,” says Tilley.

Here are some of the ways you can help develop reading skills in your two and three year old:

Vocabulary

At the age of two years, many children have a vocabulary of 150-300 words. Encourage language skills by frequently talking to your child about what is going on around you, and how you and your child are feeling. Research has shown that children with a larger vocabulary are better readers by school age.

Reading

Read and re-read your child’s favourite books, and get them involved in the story. Have them turn the pages and tell you what’s happening, in their own words. Don’t stop at picture books: read menus, road signs, and store displays when you’re out and about with your child.

Storytelling

Tell your child imaginative stories, and have them make up their own. Storytelling is a valuable reading skill as it helps your child understand chronological order.

Singing

Singing songs helps kids with phonological recognition. By singing nursery rhymes and age-appropriate songs, kids start to recognize melodies and words. When a two or three year old starts reading, he or she will be better able to sound out words aloud.

Writing

This could be as simple as sitting down with your toddler to write a letter to a grandparent or friend. Help your child learn how to recognize their name, spell it out, and write the first letter, and to point out letters on signs and in the books you read. Use alphabet books and magnetic letters to encourage letter recognition.

Remember that there is more to early literacy than simply reading books to your child. “You can encourage reading skills in toddlers by playing word games, singing songs and reading to them. There are also many family literacy programs in Canada that show parents ways to encourage literacy at home,” says Tilley.

January 27 is Family Literacy Day. Find more information on early literacy and family reading tips at ABC Canada.

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Helping your child develop literacy skills is not just about sitting down with a good book each evening before bed. Anyone who has a young child knows that getting your child to read is not always easy. However, there are a number of ways that you can encourage young readers with fun activities that will keep them interested and entertained.

“Children learn by example, so one of the key ways to encourage young readers is to act as a reading role model. Let your kids catch you reading books, magazines and newspapers,” says Ashley Tilley, Communications Coordinator at ABC Canada Literacy Foundation. “Another tip for helping out young readers is to take turns reading alternate pages and make sure to ask questions about the content of the story to ensure comprehension.”

Here are a few other ways you can motivate your young reader (source: ABC Canada’s online resources):

Mix language and song. The theme of this year’s Family Literacy Day is “Sing for Literacy.” Make reading come alive for your child by getting into the act when you read a book. Use different voices and expressionsm, and get your child to do the same.

Talk about the stories you read with your child. After you finish a book, ask your child about what happened, and get them to tell you the story in their own words. Also, as you are reading, ask your child questions. This not only gets your child immersed in the story, it also ensures they understand what you are reading.

Have a family word game or board game night that everyone can participate in. Have everyone take turns being the banker, scorekeeper, and reading instructions aloud.

Turn off the TV for at least an hour each night and have everyone read together, or participate in a crossword puzzle.

Use everyday situations as learning opportunities. A trip to the grocery store can be made fun by getting your child to help write out the shopping list and recognize products. Get your child to point out road signs or ask them to help you find something on a map before a road trip.

Make weekly visits to the library a date. Go pick out books, listen to the story hour, and make it an event your child can look forward to.

“It’s also a good idea to provide a comfortable space at home to encourage reading,” says Tilley, adding that “literacy is more than reading books. There are a lot of fun ways to help improve literacy skills. For reluctant readers, try incorporating reading in fun ways, such as by reading cards from a board game, following a recipe or singing karaoke!”

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