Literacy Lollapalooza

This past spring, our family attended an event at our local Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired called Literacy Lollapalooza.  This all day workshop type event included a variety of sessions designed to promote literacy in children with visual impairments.  One of the activities that was talked about in a couple of the sessions was making your own book, specifically making a book about something in your childs life, an “experience book.”  You could write a book about a visit to grandma’s or a trip to the zoo.  You could make a book about a daily routine like making dinner or bath time.  You can draw the pictures for your book, use real photographs or even cut pictures out of ads and magazines.  Let your child help as much as possible by drawing or pasting pictures, putting pages in order, even providing the words for the story by telling you what a picture is about.

The book we made with Lyra is called Lyra Plays Outside.  It’s about all the things she has to do before she gets to go outside and play, like putting on sunscreen and her hat. 🙂  Lyra LOVES her new book!  She asks to read it a million times a day and she is already beginning to memorize it.  Sometimes she can predict what the next page is going to say and says it out loud before I have a chance to read it. We made 2 versions, one on blue card stock and one on yellow card stock.  We weren’t sure which one she would prefer as far as contrast and glare.

To see what her storybook was about, click below to watch the “movie” inspired by the book.  😛 LOL

Lyra Plays Outside