One of our most popular daily programs that happens twice (!) daily is our Story Time in the Early Childhood Learning Center. This blog is all about why story time is important, with some good information for grownups to know, and then we’ll focus on a few different activities that could tie into the book. Today, we are going to focus on the book The Word Collector, by Peter H. Reynolds (one of my favorite authors and illustrators)! This book, for ages 4 and up, follows Jerome and his love of words. This book and following activities are a great way to help foster vocabulary in young and older children alike!

 

Join me in a reading of The Word Collector. If you have this book, follow along as you listen. Reading aloud is so important to help develop literacy skills in all ages. It’s important to read aloud to your own child, but it’s also really beneficial to give them the opportunity to listen to someone else read aloud too! Hearing other people read will give them the opportunity to hear different styles of reading, allowing them to experiment with how they might read aloud. With that being said, lets dive in!

 

 

Now! It’s time for some activities! Doing activities that relate back to a book is a great way to help build comprehension and get children involved deeply with the text. And children’s literature is packed full of important lessons, so having your kid interact deeper with a special book is a great thing. These activities are all just suggestions to do after reading this book. Feel empowered to explore different areas of making and literacy that could be inspired by these activities or this book! You could:

 

Make a word diary or journal-

 

Use this project as a way to track new words learned, words that stood out and seemed special, or that have a special connection with that particular day. A word journal is an ongoing activity and can be a long-term project to work on. This is a project that can be done with who can already read and write alone but could also be a project for grown-ups and younger ones to do together. This activity helps develop written and oral vocabulary.

 

o A journal or pieces of paper

 

o Writing instrument

 

 

Word Mobile-

 

A hanging mobile inspired by some of your favorite words, or words you loved from the book. The words can be written, drawn or collaged! This activity can be adapted for kids who already know how to write, or if the mobile is drawn it could be done by younger kids too.

 

o Paper

 

o Writing or drawing instruments

 

o String

 

o Tape

 

 

Mix-match Story or Poem-

 

This is always a fun activity to do, with a newspaper or magazines cut out words and create a story, heading, or poem using only the words you found. This project is a really good way to practice using words to inspire creative writing! This is a project to do with older kids who can already read and write on their own. Or grownups can make one and have their little ones help by cutting, gluing (as appropriate) or even picking one or two words they like.

 

o Newspaper, old magazines or pages

 

o Scissors and Glue/tape

 

o A background paper to attach the poem to.

 

I hope this read aloud and the related activities gives you and your little ones lots of ideas!

 

Tag us on social media, @Kidspacemuseum @Kidspacechildrensmuseum if you make one of these suggested activities or let us know if you had another idea!