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Newsletter – Games, Books, and Free Printables! – September 13, 2024

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Hello Book Bums families!

Has your family tried any of last week's games to help build executive function skills? This week in the newsletter we share some more games to help your kiddos build reading skills while you're in the car. You'll also find a great book series recommendation, some Civics challenges, and of course, the nerdy word knowledge we love to share with you. Enjoy!

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Word of the Week

allegiance (uh-lee-jents) noun/person, place, or thing - devotion or loyalty to a person, group, or cause

She shows her allegiance to her town by attending planning meetings and volunteering at community events.

Literary Calendar

  • September 18 is Read an eBook Day.
  • Do you have a preferred format for enjoying books? Traditional paper, an iPad or Kindle, audio? We would love to know! Respond to this email to tell us, and we will share results in an upcoming newsletter.

From our Bookshelves

zaz

I just love when facts meet fiction in books. The book series Zoey and Sassafras by Asia Citro is one that kids ages 6-10 are sure to enjoy. In each book, there are magical creatures in need of some help. Zoey, a young scientist, and Sassafras, her sidekick cat, work to solve each problem using the scientific process. These books even include a glossary to look up meanings of words that may be unfamiliar to your reader.

In these books, Zoey wears “Thinking Goggles” to help her think through big challenges. I love giving books along with relevant objects that help kids get even more excited about reading. These goggles are only two bucks, and they might just inspire your younger readers to dive into Zoey and Sassafras’s adventures.

experiment
United Scientific™ Chemical Splash Safety Goggles for Children, Eye Protection for Classroom, Lab Equipment, Chemistry Gifts, Chemistry Science Supplies, Meets ANSI Z87.1 Safety Standards (Pack of 1)

Tips for Families

I am often disappointed by just how little my students know about the United States of America. My husband and I decided to take a look at the Civics (History and Government) Questions for the Naturalization Test to see how we’d do.

The test for naturalization is an oral test. Applicants must take this test to become US citizens. A United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Officer asks applicants up to 10 of the 100 civics questions, and applicants must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly to pass. We’re adding a link so you can see how you’d do.

If you’d like to ensure your kids have some foundational knowledge about the “Pledge of Allegiance,” download the included PDF.

Tips for Readers and Writers

Whether you’re stuck in the carline to drop a child at school, on your way to practice, or just plain stuck in traffic, you can make good use of the time with your kids. The following activities have been proven effective in helping kids to become skilled readers:

Ten Game to Play in the Car

  1. I’ll say it slowly. You Say it Quickly: Say a word, separating each distinct sound, and see if your child can zip those sounds back together again and name the word. For example, you’ll say /b/-/a/-/n/-/d/, and your child will say, “Band!” (If they struggle, keep repeating the word with less time before each sound until they recognize the word.)
  2.  I’ll say it quickly. You Stretch it out: Say a word as you normally would and ask your child to stretch the word apart, sound by sound. You’ll say kiss and your child will say /k/-/i/-/ss/. You’ll need to model how it’s done, and then provide opportunities for the kids to give it a try.
  3. 20 Questions: Invite your child to think of an object. You ask up to 20 questions to try to figure out what the object is. Then, switch roles.
  4. Remember the Final Three Numbers: Slowly list random single digit numbers. Your child’s task is to hold in memory only the final three numbers when you stop. Your child will have to continually update those final three numbers as you continue to slowly name numbers in a random sequence. See if your child can retrieve the final three numbers you said before you pause.
  5. What Rhymes with __ and Starts with __?: Say, “What rhymes with part and starts with /st/? Answer: start
  6. Five Whys: Ask your child a question. When the child answers, ask “Why?” When the child answers that question, ask “Why?” Continue until you’ve asked why five times. Then switch and invite your child to do the same with you.
  7. How Many Meanings? (bat, club, bark, nail, racket, break, fair, etc.): Name a word that has multiple meanings. Together, see how many meanings you can come up with.
  8. Rhyming Word Challenge through the Alphabet : Think of a word. Then, moving through the alphabet, try to think of lots of rhyming words. If the starting word is cat, you could say . . . at, bat, cat, --, --, fat, --, hat, --, --, Kat, --, mat, Nat, --, pat, --, rat, sat, tat, --, vat, --, --, --, --) You can create a nonsense word where there’s no known rhyming word.
  9. Who’s Most Like You/Me in . . . : Think of a movie, show, or book and take turns asking one another, “Who’s most like me?” and “Who’s most like you?” Ask why.
  10. Sing Your Own Lyrics to Familiar Tunes: Think of an easy-to-sing song, and then share a true message about your day to the tune of that song. E.g., I don’t have homework to the tune of “Happy Birthday” or We are going to Target today to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

Practical Grammar

aid aide

Aid and aide are pronounced the same but have different meanings. They’re homophones.

Aid can be used as a verb meaning help or assist and as a noun meaning assistance or relief.

We strive to aid the community as they - verb
The volunteers provided much needed aid. - noun

Aide is a noun meaning assistant.

She volunteers as a teachers’ aide, so the kids get the aid they need.

Just for Fun

cant think of a word

Wordology Workshop

  • The Latin root lingu means language or tongue.
  • You can find it in English words dealing with language such as linguisticsand multilingual.
  • Sometimes the tongue meaning is literal as in linguine, a shape of pasta that is long and flat like a tongue.

Something Extra

Did you know there are 21 Storybooks Trails across Ohio State Parks? Each trail features pages from a children's book, and many of them are part of Dolly Parton's Imaginations Library of Ohio!

Kids from birth to age five can receive a free book every month through the Imagination Library.
Learn more here: https://www.ohioimaginationlibrary.org/

Check out Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library on Facebook.

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