Think Locally This Christmas

Hands up if you've heard the phrase Think Locally, Act Globally?
What about the phrase Pay It Forward?

While these terms get bandied about, we thought that this might be a good point to stop, review the book that they came from, and chat about how this can affect us at Christmas time this year...and years to come.

A quick summary of the book: Trevor is 12yrs old, and has been challenged by his Social Studies teacher to come up with an extra credit assignment based on the notion of thinking locally and acting globally.

What a precocious 12yr old, you may be thinking?
However, the idea is deceptively simple; Trevor will help 3 people, and then those 3 people will help another 3 people...so on and so on until the whole world is helped.

However, as with all good stories, nothing goes to plan. The first 2 people Trevor helps end up in jail or dead. Trevor become disillusioned and gives up on his plan, unaware that he has already set the wheels in motion and people are paying it forward. Before Trevor knows it, his little extra credit assignment has become a nationwide phenomenen and is spreading worldwide.

Let me be real: this book deals with some real gritty stuff, and can also veer off into sentimentality at times, but is a great book to read..and one that will sit with you for longer than it took to read.

So why this book, now? 
Being the Christmas (or silly, or hectic, or stressful, or painful) Season, it is a good time to remember the principals behind the concept of Pay It Forward. This isn't about Random Acts Of Kindness - another popular yet different motto and ideal - but about the idea that if someone does you a favour, then you need to do one for someone else.

So how can we Pay It Forward this christmas?
Here are some easy and free ideas to try out this Christmas season.
You may say I'm too busy.
You may say I don't have any money to donate.
You may say 'well, who is going to help me'?

I say - try them out and see if they make a difference this Christmas.
So:
--At the shops, smile at the shop assistants, and say thankyou. They are just as busy and as stressed as you, and they have to deal with lots of stressed and impatient customers
--Give your unwanted/uneeded christmas presents to a charity to deliver on christmas day. The Salvation Army is local, and will dliver chirstmas hampers to those families in need.
--The carparks in the shops are busy. Let someone go in front of you, and wave to them. you don't have to be a pushover and let everyone in, but go ahead and brighten someones day. It will lift their mood...and you maybe surprised how it lifts yours.
--Forgive a driver directing road rage at you - gosh this is a hard one, but an important one. The anger can build up in us, and come out at our loved ones who don't deserve it.
--Compliment a stranger. This could be the decorations in a shop, someone's crazy hairstyle or even a busker. There are plenty of strangers in the world - go out and get them!
--Next time you’re at the airport, offer to pull the bags out of the conveyor belt for someone who looks like they need help.

We'll leave you with a Haiku poem about the book that summarises the whole concept rather nealty:

Debts to be repaid;
The world is changed by one boy.
Pipe Dream? I hope not.

Who's Confused....?

The last few weeks have been spent looking at new books, reading new books and trying to find people who would like to review some books...books that kids might like, and books that are good for parents too.

So, I bring to you.......The Mixed Up Caterpillar.

It's cute. It's hardcover and hardy for grabby little hands. It's brightly coloured with not many words. It comes with a wiggly caterpilllar puppet..and it also carries a theme of uniqueness and similarities.

Our wiggly caterpillar hero is travelling through the forest and meets lots of other animals (with fetching alliteration inspired names), all who want to know what he is.

But what is he? He doesn't know....but he sure does have lots of guesses!

When the mixed up caterpillar finally discovers what he is....he then undergoes a transformation that confuses him all over again, and forces him to rediscover what he is all over again.

You could read this book just as a funny story, but I don't believe that would do justice to the underlying theme...that we all share similiarities but that we are all unique too. You could also talk about belonging - where do we belong and how do we develop a sense of belonging?

There is plenty of chance for discussion with this book, as well as the chance for littler ones to play at being the mixed up caterpillar with the puppet.

If you know of a great book that you would like to review, or that you think we should review, contact us at Rouse Hill Families Connect and let us know - we'd love to hear what books you have found useful/brilliant/funny/sad or a myriad of emotions in between!

Daddy And Me!

We've just had a wonderful event last weekend - a Dads 'n' Kids morning at the library, filled with singing, music making, dancing, storytelling and even a craft activity!

It was great to see so many Dads (and grandpas and uncles - and even a big brother or two) come out and celebrate early literacy AND being a male role model with their kids.

No child-and that includes babies-is ever too young to visit the library and check out the books; even if it is just to chew on the corners of said book!

Margaret Meek (a great advocate of early literacy who did quite a bit of research and study in the 1980's which is still informing practice today) says that:

"The biggest mistake we make is giving the fve year old the notion that you learn to read by a series of exercises, like scales in music, and then you are rewarded with a 'real' book or 'real' reading in another form. The children who teach themsleves to read do it by turning the pages and looking at the pictures long before they can read the words......when they focus on the print it is because they want to know the story and tell it to themselves" 

Margaret also speaks about "shared enjoyment" of reading, and how children learn to read by being read to; that when a child has an adult or older child who is patient and spends the time reading something that they both enjoy, the experience will help the child learn to read.

What we can gather from all the available research both here and overseas is that children who come from homes that are saturated in print and language come to reading much easier than those children who aren't.

The catchcry of Paint The Hills REaD is "Read to your child, Sing to your child, Talk to your child and Play with your child". How many have you done today??

Grandma Knows...

What lovely weather we are having at the moment - perfect for getting outdoors!

Grab a book (or two), a rug and some lunch and head off to the local park for a free day that will keep everyone happy - and tire the kids out by the end of it!

This week's REaDspot features a Grandma who knows what books kids like - and how to introduce books with chapters to younger children.

I have come across a wonderful book called "Animal Exercises-Poems to keep fit (by Mandy Ross)" and thought I'd share with you one here about Tree Frogs

Actions are encouraged - the more outrageous ones your kids can come up with the better!

Tree Frog

Frogs like leapfrog,

We love to leap.

We're always leaping

(unless we are asleep0.

I leap over you,

Then you leap over me.

Frogs like leapfrog,

As anyone can see!

Have a great week everyone - and REaD to each other!!

Mem outFOXes Us....

The sun is shining and it's a loveyl day to be outdoors, lying on the grass in the sun - with a good book in hand, of course!

However, this week we've had Mem Fox in the paper - check it out below! You can get your own copy from the Rouse Hill Stanhope Gardens News if you'd like!

Things are looking exciting for our Dads 'n' Kids morning too - more information to come shortly!

Who Likes Duck Soup??

So, kids love videos...
...and kids love puppets.

And sometimes we feel like we should REaD with them more, right?

Well....Here's a solution!

Listen and watch Terry Fator (ventriloquist and puppeteer in Las Vegas) read 'Duck Soup' with a special friend!

Enjoy!

Paint The Hills REaD

Hellooo again!

It has been a long time since we have blogged anything - oops! But, we are here, we are back blogging and we have some wonderful things to tell you all about.

Paint The Hills REaD has arrived!

Research shows that if a child can recite 8 nursery rhymes by the age of 4 that he/she will most likely be a successful reader!

Read To Your Child

Sing To Your Child

Talk To Your Child

Play with Your Child

Paint The Hills REaD is a community initiative that is focused on early literacy for all children, beginning from birth, but no matter what age!

We will be having a Dads 'n' Kids Story and Music Morning day at Vinegar Hill Library on Saturday 19th November as a part of this great community program. For more info, contact Emma at (02) 8805 7207 - more infomation to come though!

Keep your eyes out for this fellow.....

 ..because wherever you see it, that means that something for Paint The Hills REaD is happening!

Open the Newspaper....

What with all the wet weather we've been having it has given us the perfect excuse to stay indoors and read some books; by ourselves and with our children! The wet weather has also meant that we can read about water and rain (and puddles) and then go and splash about in them!

We also have some more stars - Samantha, Alesha and Angela and some of their kids - feature this week in "The REaD Spot" - wow!

As always, you can see this article for yourselves in the Rouse Hill-Stanhope News both online and in the paper version. This weeks article contains some information about early literacy and how to instill this in your child without having to "teach".

There are also the words for the action song Open, Shut Them (you can listen and see the actions by clicking on the song title) which is great, especially for younger children.

It is also great to do the actions to babies to assist with their brain and language development - as you know after reading these posts, literacy begins at birth!

REaD Spot and singing!

Here we are with week 2 of the Rouse Hill Families Connect REaD Spot in the Rouse Hill-Stanhope News newspaper and you can find a link on our facebook wall.

This week features the words to the song "Galumph Went The Little Green Frog" - an incredible catchy song that you will find yourself humming all day after just one rendition! There are also some storybook suggestions about frogs for different aged kids and reading levels.

This week features more Play In The Garden superstars: Kelly, Fiona and Karen along with some of their kids showing off books that we read in the secret garden.

Sometimes reading at home can be hard (especially when the kids are at school and have bought home a book that they don't like/it's late and you are tired/they are tired and can't be bothered. However, one piece of advice to help during those times is to try to ensure that your child's reading at home is at an independant level.

But what is your childs independant reading level?
This is the level at which the books are relatively easy for your child to read and ones that they can read with about 95% accuracy. Books at this level dont require the child to sound out lots of words. Most of the words are read quickly and easily.

When your child spends time reading at their independent level, they are getting a chance to practice word recognition and word analysis skills (the ones hopefully being taught at school). Repeated readings of the same book over and over again enable each reading to become smoother. Soon, the reading will begin to "sound like talking." These are all important steps in becoming a fluent reader.

One further piece of advice - when the book can be 'read' with eyes closed: time to get a new book!
Thanks to Reading Rockets for the helpful information on independant level reading.

We Are...Well, Some Of You Are...Famous!

Our focus for this year is the importance of early literacy, and how important it is to read to your child (for even just 20 minutes a day), and how much it can impact on their future learning and language skills.

As a part of this initative, we will be hosting a very special event during Book Week that will feature all sorts of exciting things - more details to come so check back often!

However, Rouse Hill Families Connect will be featured in the Rouse Hill Stanhope News each week in "The REaD SPOT" which will have literacy tips and stories, information about activities and photos of you all!

Our first feature was in last week and starred Deborah, Tammy and Melissa - check them out below:

These stars came to Play In The Garden which is held up at the Rouse Hill Town Centre, and upcoming weeks will feature more of our stars!

If you don't get Rouse Hill Stanhope News delivered then you can grab a copy for yourself each week from the information centre at Rouse Hill Town Centre, as well as local newsagencies - or you can check here to see the latest updates and infomation about REaD 2 ME in Rouse Hill!

New Friends......

Welcome to 2011!

We are a wee bit slow, but blame that on holidays, not laziness! We are back in the office, we've waded through our emails, finalised registrations and had a cup (or two) of coffee - all before lunchtime!

We hope that everyone had a lovely break (if you got one, that is) and got the chance to celebrate with family, friends or those you hold dear.

There has been quite of bit of hustle in the media lately about how technology is affecting our kids; wether this be through their written skills, social skills, or physical skills.

One way to increase some communication and social skills of your child is through penpals. You can now have an email pen pal, a regular mail pen pal,  art pen pal (where children share artworks), a photography penpal - the options are almost as endless as the countries where there are children looking for friends!

Remember, always use a reputable service when looking for a penpal for your child - and get them involved in choosing who they write too! A good penpal can be a friend for life for your child!