Let’s Practice

LET’S PRACTICE: We are dedicating each day of the week to one of the five practices developed through the American Library Association’s Every Child Ready to Read initiative: talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing. Every day we will post a prompt to our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages to give families concrete ideas for practice.

MONDAY – TALKING

Let's Practice Talking
About Talking
Talking with and around young children helps build vocabulary. The more words a child knows, the easier it will be to sound them out when the time comes. And talking builds narrative skills, helping children understand how words and sentences fit together to tell stories and impart information.

TUESDAY – SINGING

Let's Practice Singing
About Singing
Singing involves sounding different syllables on different notes, helping children understand how words can be separated into smaller parts. And many songs include rhyme and meter, giving children experience with the patterns of language.

WEDNESDAY – READING

Let's Practice Reading
About Reading
Reading to children allows them to associate books and stories with closeness and intimacy, making it an especially treasured activity. And reading near and around children lets them see how reading operates, and know it is valued by the important adults in their lives.

THURSDAY – WRITING

Let's Practice Writing
About Writing
Writing helps children understand that words on the page originated as someone else’s thoughts and ideas. Practicing writing can include both handwriting, building fine motor skills with a pencil or crayon, and composition, arranging alphabet blocks or magnetic letters into words.

FRIDAY – PLAYING

Let's Practice Playing
About Playing
Playing builds bonds between parent and child, supporting all of the other practices (and making life happy, to boot). Creative play fosters healthy imagination, preparing children to dive into other people’s stories, and create stories of their own.

Let’s Practice – September 27 – October 1

Posted: September 26, 2021

THIS WEEK’S THEME: NIGHT

Let's Practice Talking

Monday: Let’s Practice Talking

Talk about how it’s getting dark out sooner now that it’s fall.   Ask your family to all make a wish on a star and share their wishes.  

Let's Practice Singing

Tuesday: Let’s Practice Singing

Sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” with Laurie from the Sumas Library

Let's Practice Reading

Wednesday: Let’s Practice Reading

Read a picture book about the night.   The Night World by Mordicai Gerstein is a great book about how dark (and fun) it is at night. 

Let's Practice Writing

Thursday: Let’s Practice Writing

Did you know that the stars make patterns in the sky?  They are called Constellations.  Starry Skies by Samantha Chagollan shows some of the constellations.  Trace the lines in the book with your finger or draw some of the shapes on paper.

Let's Practice Playing

Friday: Let’s Practice Playing

There’s a famous book called In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak.     Play Night Kitchen at your house.  You can pretend to bake a cake and fly off in your own plane to get milk from the moon.