Mrs Campling's Library Corner
Welcome to the first regular Library Corner of the newsletter! In the first week of every month I’ll be sharing recommendations, tips/tricks for reading, interesting trivia & upcoming releases that you can keep your eyes peeled for; as well as anything we’ve been up to in the library!
Each month I will be including a game or tip that can help with reading, particularly with younger/reluctant readers, or ideas for expanding the reading experience through follow-up activities.
Library Visits
I appreciate that many of you will have been frustrated that the children are not able to change their books as freely or frequently as usual. With 420 children all using the library, and the need to protect bubble integrity as much as possible, it’s inevitable that this will take longer than it used to. I would like to reassure you that between myself and class teachers/TAs we are trying to supply as many books as we can in the interim between library visits, but please do be patient with us and perhaps encourage your child to reread an old favourite (or try something new from your local library!) if they finish their school book in record time. Reading voraciously is a wonderful problem for us to have!
Coconut Shy
This game is great for word recognition (particularly for tricky words that can’t be sounded out phonetically). It can be used for anything: the alphabet, phonics sounds, spellings, or words that your child is regularly stumped by.
- Find some cups (paper, stacking, bath, plastic...as long as it’s not fragile!) and place them along a wall or makeshift bench (like a coconut shy)
- Write the sounds or words on pieces of paper and stick one to each cup
- Using a ball, or some rolled up paper, or anything - shout the word and let your child throw the ball to knock over the ‘coconut’.
Recommended reads
We’ve got some fab new books in the library. Here are my recommended reads for November:
Mixed - a picture book all about celebrating our differences, through looking at mixing colours. It’s funny and at times poignant.
Mr Penguin and the Fortress of Secrets - Indiana Jones meets Poirot, but he’s a penguin...a thoroughly daft adventure (his sidekick is a kung-fu spider called Colin) great for reading independently, especially if you like a giggle.
Lampie - translated from Dutch! This story is about a young lighthouse keeper who is punished for causing a shipwreck and finds herself in a world of mermaids, pirates and adventure. It takes a while to get going but is well worth it once you’re in.
Literary Dates
Bram Stoker (Dracula), Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island) and Astrid Lindgren (Pippi Longstocking) were all born in November; William Shakespeare got married; and Roald Dahl died.
Thumbnail Photo by Jessica Ruscello on Unsplash