Welcoming Leticia Bennett from Scholastic's Family and Community Engagement team to the blog. She's here to share tips for parents and families around celebrating National Family Week.
National Family Week is an annual celebration observed during the week of Thanksgiving. This week is designed to build community connections and honor those who strengthen families through local events and activities. With Thanksgiving Day right around the corner, National Family Week presents a great opportunity for families and communities to connect through events and activities that are not only fun, but also linked to learning.
Students everywhere benefit the most when families and communities build strong partnerships with educators and schools. Scholastic Family and Community Engagement’s core mission is to unite educators, parents and communities in proficient all children with the literacy resources they need to succeed. We specialize in creating programs and resources that strengthen these relationships while helping all educators meet their instructional goals.
So, what can you do this holiday season to participate in National Family Week? Here are a few suggestions from the Scholastic FACE team on how you can make reading a fun activity for your family and children during Thanksgiving:
- Shopping Lists: Planning your recipes for the big turkey day? Write a shopping list with your child sitting next to you. Provide paper and pencil so the child makes his or her own list. Then, take it to the grocery store and use it as you shop to show that listed words have meaning.
- Storytelling: Encourage all family members to tell stories about your family history. Have the oldest member tell a story about a major family event, and then ask the youngest members to re-tell it. This is a great way to build vocabulary, language and analytical skills.
- Read Together & Share: Parents are children’s first and most influential teacher. Read together about topics that interests your child. Share what you read with your child. Talk about why reading interests you. Doing these activities with them will encourage them to read more.
- Gifting Your Time: Volunteer at your local library, children’s hospital or youth-focused organizations to host a read-aloud for kids on a Saturday afternoon. Build the connections within your community while helping children of all ages develop their literacy skills. It’s a win-win for all!
For more free ideas for how to celebrate National Family Week, check out our FACE Pinterest board.
