1. Take Home Literacy Bags Bridging the gap between home and school. Susan Dardar, NBCT 2009 Early Childhood Generalist Emily Simon, NBCT 2009 Exceptional Needs

2. Research has shown that children are highly motivated to read materials that they self-select. Nightly reading at home is crucial to building successful readers.

3. By creating Take Home Literacy Bag experiences: You are helping to bridge the gap between home and school Creating life long readers Fostering parent involvement, interactions and engagement

4. Things to remember: Start with a book or concept that needs to be addressed Find an activity Make the activities meet your needs. The bags can double as center activities in reading or math. They can be used as whole group activities. Your seasonal art activities can be sent home in a literacy bag and used in class to create beautiful student work displays. Ex. Winter (Snowmen), Valentine (Hearts), and Mardi Gras (Masks) One bag can serve several purposes. (Holidays, Seasons) If you dont have the book, you can print a mini book from the internet. Ex. Brown Reindeer, Brown Reindeer, & Dr. Jean Song Books

5. Examples of Literacy Bags Academic connections Creativity Childhood milestones Take home bag website

8. Printable Items Available at http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/emilyt/bio.htm Parent letter One take home bag activities –Very Hungry Caterpillar –Brown Bear Activity Cards Websites to find pre-made activities Parent survey cards to include. Todays PowerPoint Roster to keep track of your bags

9. Websites to find pre-made activities: www.makinglearningfun.com www.prekinders.com http://www.dltk-teach.com www.geocities.com/sbart329/BookBag.html http://www.littlegiraffes.com/storyprops1.html www.kizclub.com/storypatterns http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/emilyt/take%20home%20bags.htm http://www.kidscount1234.com/takehomebags.html http://www.ourschoolfamily.com/Family%20Projects%20and%20Tak e%20Home%20Bags.htmhttp://www.ourschoolfamily.com/Family%20Projects%20and%20Tak e%20Home%20Bags.htm http://www.cape.k12.mo.us/Blanchard/hicks/News%20Pages/Take% 20Home%20Bags/Take%20Home%20Bags.htmhttp://www.cape.k12.mo.us/Blanchard/hicks/News%20Pages/Take% 20Home%20Bags/Take%20Home%20Bags.htm