Family Reading Week: How Idaho Libraries Are Celebrating

Idaho public libraries are celebrating Family Reading Week with a variety of activities, including Family Reading Nights, open houses, workshops for parents, proclamation signings, book drives, displays, newsletter and newspaper articles, and special programs and events.

Libraries hosting a Family Reading Night include:

• Ada Community Library in Boise and Star
• Benewah Co. Library District in Tensed
• Boise Basin District Library in Idaho City
• Burley Public Library
• Clark County District Library in Dubois
• Clearwater County District Library in Weippe
• Eagle Public Library
• Eastern Owyhee County District Library in Grand View
• Jefferson County District Library in Menan
• Jerome Public Library
• Kootenai Shoshone Area Libraries in Hayden
• Larsen Sant Public Library in Preston
• Latah County Library District in Bovill
• Lewiston City Library
• Madison District Library
• Mackay District Library
• Marshall Public Library in Pocatello
• Meridian District Library
• Midvale Community Library
• North Bingham County District Library in Shelley
• Post Falls Public Library

Some libraries will be partnering in their community for their events: 

Benewah District Library in Fernwood is partnering with Parents as Teachers to hold a parent workshop.

The Eastern Owyhee County District Library in Grand View is partnering with the elementary school to host a Family Reading Night.

The Larsent-Sant Public Library in Preston will host a Family Reading Night in conjunction with the Franklin County Reading Association.

In Jerome, the public library will host a Family Reading Night using the theme "Outback Adventures."  They will have skits, crafts, games, a book exchange and will serve refreshments.  They will partner with Head Start.

The Lewiston City Library is partnering with the Lewis Clark State College Family Education Center to host a Scrapbooking Night.  They are also participating in the Operation Wish Book book drive.

The Madison District Library in Rexburg will host a Family Reading Night featuring a Polar Express party.

The Osburn Public Library is partnering with the elementary school. Their activities include a book drive, display and newsletter article.

Idaho Family Reading Week Ideas

The challenge during Idaho Family Reading Week is to make libraries part of family memories. The following ideas are designed to promote family interaction and could take place during Idaho Family Reading Week or at other times during the year. Many of the ideas are reprinted with permission from Heather McNeil, Youth Services Coordinator at Deschutes Public Libraries in Oregon.

Family Time Capsule. Read or tell Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox. Each family should bring a shoe box to decorate. They will fill the shoebox throughout the year with small items that commemorate special events and memories. Provide a list of ideas, such as videotapes of vacation, audiotapes of the family telling stories or singing songs together, family photos, notes from teachers, significant news articles, menus from favorite restaurants, the collar from a pet who died, letters from friends and family, etc. The box should be sealed and labeled on the outside with the year. Then during your New Year’s Day dinner a year later the family can open the box and relive the memories. The idea is to make this an annual event so there will be many boxes and many memories.

Family Trivial Pursuit. Have each family member design cards that have trivia on information about family members and events. Provide them with a large piece of poster paper to design their own unique game board.

(It’s probably a good idea to have a real "Trivial Pursuit" game on hand to give ideas and format.) Examples of questions could be "In what year was Mom born?" "Where did Dad go to college?" "Where did the family eat together on Susie’s 6th birthday?"

Fun with Food. Read or tell a story with food as the theme, such as Wombat Stew by Patricia Vaughn, Stone Soup (traditional), Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, Full Belly Bowl by Jim Aylesworth, The Fat Cat (traditional), or any other of the many books about food. Then choose from the following:

• Family Stew. Hand out a pattern for a large stew pot. Each family member must decide what he/she would be if they were a part of a family stew. The stew ingredients do not have to make sense! For instance, Mom says she would be carrots because her hair is red; Dad says he would be popcorn because he likes to bounce around and keep moving; Katie says she would be bubble gum because she’s always chewing it. Then they design, color, cut out and glue all the foods they need onto their stew pot.

• Family Table Cloth. Provide each family with a white plastic tablecloth and a variety of permanent markers. Everyone gets to decorate.
• Family Place Mats. Provide each family member with poster board cut to the size of a place mat. Each person decorates his/her own place mat. Cover with clear contact paper.

Family Book of Records. Select a variety of activities for everyone to do, no matter what age. For instance, each member of the family attempts to stand on one foot the longest, hold their breath the longest, blow the biggest bubble, not laugh for the longest time, etc. You’ll need a stop watch for each family, but it’s important that everyone participate, not become the "time keeper." So maybe one family could time another family, and then switch. Provide paper so they can put together a Family Book of Records to keep.

Family Banners of Pride

• Family Flag. Guide families to discuss the history or activities that make their family special. Provide each family with a pillowcase if you have the budget, or require that they bring one when they register. Encourage the family to sketch out a design on paper, and then draw/paint on the cloth. When the fabric paint or markers have dried, roll one side around a dowel or cardboard tube. Secure the material, remove the tube, and then sew or staple the cloth. Be sure to close off the top so the flag doesn’t slip down the tube. The flag can be flown on special occasions such as birthdays, or to celebrate achievements.

• Family Coat of Arms. Draw a shield shape and divide it into sections, one for each member of the family. Think of a symbol to go in each section to represent each member of the family. Choose a color scheme that also represents the family (green because we like to hike together, red because we all love spaghetti, etc.). Finally, make up a motto to go at the bottom. It might be serious (Family is Forever) or it might be humorous (Ice Cream Rules).

Family Band. Read or tell stories with a musical theme such as The Foolish Frog by Pete Seeger, Grandma’s Band by Brad Bowles, Ty’s One Man Band by Mildred Pitts Walter, The Cat’s Midsummer Jamboree by David Kherdian, The Old Banjo by Dennis Haseley, or use Norma Livo’s Troubador’s Storybag to find folktales with a musical theme. Then choose one or more activities:

• Family Orchestra. Each member of the family makes a musical instrument, such as an oatmeal container drum, maraca from cups or plates filled with beans, etc. Then sing "Mama Don’t Allow" and everyone joins in.

• Family Song. Have each family make up a unique song about members of their family. Give them an example to build on, such as, "The Farmer in the Dell" could become "The McNeils from Bend, The McNeils from Bend, Heigh-ho the Family Oh, The McNeils from Bend. Jamie likes ballet, Jamie likes ballet, Heigh- ho the Family Oh, Jamie likes ballet. Mom tells lots of stories…etc." Encourage everyone to be as creative and silly as possible because that’s what will be remembered and sung. "Dad fell in the mud….Becky can sound like a pig…."
• Family Jug Band. Provide very inexpensive musical instruments, such as kazoos, jugs, and bottles. Those who don’t get an instrument can clap hands or slap thighs. Either play music or sing songs that everyone can accompany.

Bookmarks. Provide tagboard, markers and pictures clipped from magazines. Have every member of the family design a bookmark for every other member of the family. Cover with clear adhesive- backed plastic.

Wearable Art. If you have funds, provide each person with a plain white T-shirt. Or when families register for the program, tell them they need to bring one for each family member. This project can get as complicated or as simple as you wish. Providing markers, and newspaper to put inside the T-shirt so the markers won’t bleed through would be the simplest. More elaborate ideas would be to provide cookie cutters for designs, fabric paints in jars and squeeze bottles, and pencils with erasers to "stamp" the paint. You could also make just one T-shirt per family, the idea being that it would be worn on a special day such as a birthday. An example would be one decorates with star designs, and the words, "I’m a star today!"

Family Scavenger Hunt. Lead everyone in the circle game "Goin’ on a Treasure Hunt," based on "Goin’ on a Bear Hunt.’ Afterward, tell everyone there are clues hidden around the library like a regular scavenger hunt. Families stay together as a group to solve the clues and follow the hunt. At the end of the hunt they find a "rock" which they break open to find trinkets and treasures. They create a story using the objects from their rock. The recipe for making the rock is as follows:

Treasure Rock Recipe

Materials:
2 cups water
2 cups used coffee grounds
6 cups flour
½ cup sand
1 cup salt

Method:

1. Mix ingredients together to form soft dough.
2. Flatten out and put small trinkets inside (plastic dinosaurs, shells, etc.)
3. Form dough up around the item into a ball, until it is hidden completely.
4. Bake on cookie sheets at 200 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Remove & cool.
5. Children can break open the "rock" and find treasures inside.

Each recipe will make at least four large rocks.

Old-Fashioned Family Fun. It is a wonderful bonding experience for children to see their parents acting like children, and not always being good at it. Some of the activities you could lead that would allow for this would be:

• String games, especially Cat’s Cradle that allows child to play with parent
• Hula hoop contests (who can do it longest?)
• Bunny hop through the library
• Learning the "Macarena"
• Balloon relays
• Hand clapping games, such as "Miss Mary Mack"

Family Word Game. The first member of the family says, "I went to our house and what did I see? A Dalmatian named Spot." The next person adds on and says, "I went to our house and what did I see? A Dalmatian named Spot, and a treehouse." Each family member adds one on, and includes all the others. Tell the families how many they are supposed to try and list. The idea is not to eliminate family members if they forget; everyone should try to help each other. But it is more fun in the items are creative and clever (i.e., a Tupperware tub in the refrigerator full of moldy spaghetti)

Family Stories. Story Starters. Provide the family groups with a list of story starters. They choose which one they want to use, and the appropriate person tells the story. Then they divide it up for illustrations. The parent(s) write down the text, and the children illustrate. Provide each family with a tagboard or construction paper to use for a cover. Punch holes and use yarn to hold the book together. Here are some possible story starters:

• We have a very interesting ancestor in our family. He/she was . . .
• We have a family tradition that we do every (name the holiday) . . .
• This is how we celebrate . . .
• Our family had an amazing experience with a natural disaster. It was a (tornado/hurricane/flood/blizzard/fire).
• We remember how_____________ got the scar on his/her ____________.
• This is what happened . . .
• Our parents really thought it was funny when I . . .
• We have a very special pet in our family. It is a . . .
• One of us in the family had scary/funny/sad experience with an animal . . .

The Day You Came Into Our Family. Children never tire of hearing about their birth or adoption into the family. Have the parent tell the story, and then everyone in that family helps to design the book. They could illustrate parts of the story or draw "frames" for photos they want to add later.

Family Calendar. This calendar will designate events and memories that the family chooses to celebrate. Provide each family with a selective list of special days from Chase’s Calendar of Events. On a large sheet of construction paper, have each family draw a calendar grid for a particular month (or you can have these copied and run off before). The family selects dates that are important to their family, or that they want to borrow from Chase’s, or that they want to make up. (For instance, National Pickle Day is, and Mom’s birthday is, and Purple Day is) For each of those dates they cut a flap (i.e., cut two sides and the bottom but leave the top so it flaps up) Now paste or tape the construction paper calendar to a sheet of poster paper. Behind each of the designated flaps the family members draw an appropriate picture on the poster paper.

Family Quilt
Paper. Give each member of the family several quilt squares cut from paper. Each member decorates the squares to make a place mat (see above).

Cloth. Give each member of the family several quilt squares cut from cloth, and permanent markers. They can take the quilt squares home to make the quilt. Each square should have a theme which you could provide, or they could choose their own, such as Favorite Book, Favorite Holiday, Favorite Animal, and so on, The idea is that all of the squares put together reveal a lot about each family member.

Overnight at the Library. Invite children to spend the night at the library. They must be accompanied all night long by their own parent(s). Plan a variety of activities to keep families entertained (use the list above for ideas.) Be sure to take a group photo; this will probably become an annual event and families will want to have the photo for their time capsules!

Family Fun with Trails and Geography. Books offer a glimpse into far away places. Where else can you travel across the globe or galaxy with a flip of a page? Use books and activities to help teach children about travel and geography. Emphasize where a story takes place to help kids become aware of settings. Use the following ideas to help.

• Find a large copy of a world map. Put pins, stickers or highlight places visited, where relative live, current events, or book settings.
• Talk about where ideas, products, and people come from.
• Visit a travel agency and collect travel brochures. Read them and talk about unique places to travel.
• Collect stamps. Research or map their origins.
• Help your child get a pen pal or write letters to relatives or friends in different cities or countries.
• Keep maps, atlases and globes around the house. Use them with your child.
• Talk about what you like best about being home. What is it like to be away from home? What do you or would you miss the most? If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Why?
• Make binoculars by stapling two toilet tissue tubes and some yarn together. Explore and talk about what you see together.
• Celebrate cultural customs and rituals from your own heritage.
• Experiment with other cultures. Attend a pow-wow, eat foods from other cultures, learn as much as you can by reading and talking with others from different cultures.
• Create a pretend "suitcase" from a file folder or cereal box (cover with paper of fabric). Have kids cut out or draw pictures of items they might need on a trip (toothbrush, clothing, camera, etc.) and "pack" them in the file folder.
• Learn a few common phrases in other languages.
• Examine images that television, movies, and books project of people of various cultures. Discuss what's authentic and what's stereotypical and how you can determine the difference.

Note: Many of these activities are appropriate for the motor skill abilities of age five and up. However, younger siblings could be included in many of them with adaptations.

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Reading Display & Promotion Ideas

Here’s a few display ideas to promote reading you can use during Family Reading Week or any time during the year:

Tie in with the election season by having kids vote on their favorite books by grade. Have teachers and parents vote too. Another way kids can vote is to participate in the Young Readers Choice Award. Students in grades 4 – 6 can participate. See www.pnla.org/yrca/ for more information.

One school librarian made a bookworm and added a circle to lengthen the bookworm each time a student finished a book. Cumulative displays where children or families can add an item for time spent reading or pages read are a fun way to involve all without singling out the “star” readers.

Try using “shelf talkers” throughout your library or book corners. Use table tents or fold heavy paper, stick on some clip art, and use some of these phrases with the displayed books: Check This Out!, Principal’s Pick, Betcha Can’t Stop at Just One (with a series), (Teacher’s name) recommends, Really Funny Book, Don’t Miss This One!, Write Your Own.

Many libraries promote book drives or book exchanges during Family Reading Week. Here's a few more ideas:

A Thanksgiving tradition, the Books for Joy program at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library gives hardcover books to at-risk families and youth. The program has given away hundred of books since it began in 1992. Contact the library for more information.

The “Dinner and a Book” book drive is organized by several VISTA volunteers in elementary schools across the state. Books are collected during Family Reading Week and distributed through the Idaho Food Bank with Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets. Operation Wish Book is a book drive organized by the Idaho Reading Association and is held in several communities throughout the state during the month of November. Books are then distributed through local social service agencies to low income families.

Other communities sponsor food drives or “Food for Fines” campaigns during Idaho Family Reading Week. One drive, called Food for Thought, is held annually with all the county libraries asking customers to bring a food item each time they visit the library during this week. Write a press release after you are done collecting food to thanks the community and report on how much food was collected.

To help children in need, one library sets up a Mitten Tree. Library customers are invited to place useful gifts of clothes B new or hand-made mittens, scarves, earmuffs, winter caps and gloves - upon the tree. In mid-December, all donations are given to local charities to distribute.

The Boise Basin District Library in Idaho City celebrated Family Reading Week by challenging community members to turn off the TV and read during the week. They kept track of the number of pages read and had a celebration.

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Contact Stephanie Bailey-White
Contact Peggy McClendon