Family resources
Tips for using the newspaper at home |
Links for families |
Activities for preschoolers to beginning readers
1. Cut out pictures of cars, bicycles, motorcycles, boats, buses, etc. and paste
on sturdy cardboard. Punch holes to bind into a transportation picture book.
2. Do the same with pictures of different foods to teach about food groups and
nutrition.
3. Or cut out pictures of people doing different jobs and make a book about
your community. Include firefighters, police, doctors, teachers, government
officials, etc.
4. Cut out numbers and make your own flashcards, or create flashcards from simple
words.
5. Search for opposites – big and small, old and young, hot and cold,
etc.
6. Make an alphabet book with pictures and words beginning with each letter
of the alphabet. Extra credit for finding X and Z!
7. Cut out the individual panels on the Comics page and have children put them
back in order. What came first? Last? Ask them to guess what might have happened
before and after the first and last panels.
8. Cut out pictures from unrelated stories, and write a children’s story
together using the pictures as illustrations. Read it at bedtime.
Activities with older children
1. Plan a family outing. Use the newspaper listings to plan dinner and a movie,
or a nature walk or a weekend getaway. Older children can help budget for the
event, and can make a schedule.
2. Follow a developing news story and plan a dinnertime discussion. Make predictions
about what might happen next. Hold mock elections or debates after dinner.
3. Make a game of guessing which of your favorite sports teams will win or what
the score might be. Read the paper for the results. The winner gets to choose
the next game or activity.
4. Go through the circulars together and make a grocery list for the week. Peruse
the food section for recipes that use ingredients that are on sale. Cook a meal
together from start to finish. Make sure to include dessert!
5. Borrow an idea from the schools and Drop Everything And Read. Adults too!
Pick 20 minutes and read silently then meet to discuss the funniest thing you’ve
read, or the saddest, or the most interesting or thought provoking. Let your
children see you reading – the newspaper, a book, the back of a cereal
box. Read often and read together.
6. Use the newspaper as a starting place. Read the Sports section together then
help your child research a favorite player or team on the Internet or at the
library. Read a movie review, then see the movie, and research the topic or
actors. Find conflicting reviews online. Write your own review and email it
to friends and family.
7. Copy what you like! Use the newspaper as a springboard for ideas to create
your own family newsletter, The Smith Family Times or The Jones Journal. Add
photos and souvenirs from a family vacation or celebration. Make copies and
give it to your grandparents as a gift.
Recycling
Create a playhouse out of recycled newspaper
Create a playhouse with your child and recycle newspapers at the same time.
Instructions for creating a R. Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome out of a stack
of 100 sheets of newspaper and a roll of masking tape are online at www.nieworld.com/special/recycle/geodesic.htm.
Turn your old newspapers into a “lasagna garden”
Instructions for recycling the paper into a layered vegetable garden that requires
no digging, tilling or weeding are available online at www.nieworld.com/special/recycle/lasagna.htm.
Just don’t bring us your extra zucchini. We probably have enough!
Make a newspaper book cover
Yesterday’s news can wrap today’s text book. Find instructions for
a “newsie” book cover at www.nieworld.com/special/recycle/bookcover.htm.
What do dress patterns, Christmas wreaths and glass cleaners have in common?
They can all be made from recycled newspapers. So can pot holders, fire starters,
kites, sponges and even new paper. Visit www.make-stuff.com/recycling/newspaper.htm
for more tips and instructions.
www.crayola.com
Rainy day activities, party tips, family travel tips and a guide to partners
as partners in education.
www.disney.com
Family fun with recipes, party planning, and games.
www.yahooligans.yahoo.com
Material on safe web surfing and web surfing as a family adventure.
www.family-institute.com
Guide to parent involvement in school success.
www.nickjr.com
Parents pages offer articles on health and fitness, school concerns, advice
and a movie and video guide.
