Parent/Caregiver outlines the shape of one of the creatures in “I Know and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” (e.g., spider) on a large piece of Bristol/Poster board and prints out the words to the first verse of the song inside the creature outline. Parent/Caregivers cut the large creature shape out and then cut it into giant puzzle pieces for children to reassemble. The activity invites children to rely on both the shape of the pieces and their reading skills to assemble the puzzle pieces. Once the puzzle has been completed, children can read or sing the song aloud as they point to the words with guidance of parent or caregiver.

The overall calendar should be interdisciplinary, that is to say, in addition to activities aimed at developing skills related to the language arts of reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and representing, the calendar should include literacy activities that support learning in math, science, social studies, physical education, and music. Create the calendar in Word (rows/columns) or another digital platform and mark your annotated entries in each of the calendar squares. Include a list of references for websites and resources and an APPENDIX of any resources used that you wish to include such as lyrics to songs, poems, illustrations, directions to crafts, recipes, etc.

Spend some time exploring the following websites. Think about how the recommendations, activities, and literature support early and family literacy? What activities actively promote literacy (e.g., puppets to dramatize and retell stories) and which seem to be busy work?