Fun virtual storytimes filled with great books, rhymes and songs. Watch anytime and sing along!

Storytime at Home

Dial-a-Story

Raising Confident Kids

Smiling little girl with hand on hip, posing in front of blurred grasses and flowers in the background

Disability: Read Up On It!

Helping your child understand that words are related to the story is an important part of learning to read. After the activity, visit your library to find a book that has similar themes to the story your child has drawn.

Have your child draw a picture and tell a story as you write it. Read it back together. Keep these in a binder so you can re-read them with your child regularly, so your child thinks of themself as a writer.

Child and adult writing

Write: Tell Me a Story

Activities that illustrate a beginning, middle and end help children develop a sense of how stories are constructed. Here's a fun activity for you and your child. 

Once a week choose a colour to highlight. Dress your child in that colour; you should as well. What foods are that colour? Construct a story using this information. For example- Michael got up and dressed in red pants and a red top, he went downstairs and ate strawberry jam on toast and drank cranberry juice for breakfast. Write down the story and help your child to illustrate it. You can draw the pictures or use digital images.

Toddler with Crayon

Write: The Colour of the Week

Writing activities help your child recognize letters and to figure out how to say written words. Consider using other words to help familiarize your child with more letter shapes.

Print your child’s name on a piece of white paper. Ask your child to trace over the letters with different colours, until there is a rainbow around each letter of his name.

Children Scribbling

Write: Rainbow Name

Writing activities help your child learn that words represent real things. Here’s a fun activity that helps link words to objects.

Show your child how you write your shopping list (and let him “write” one too). At the store, read the list with your child and find the items together. For very young children, cutting out the pictures from flyers and creating a list with those pictures keeps them involved in the activity. Together, label the pictures, this helps relate the words to the pictures.

Children with adult at grocery store

Write: Shopping List

Activities that help your child learn the letters of the alphabet are a way to help her succeed at school. Be sure to use both upper case and lower case letters appropriately on labels.

Help your child look for the letters of her name in words on magazine pages. Cut out the letters and paste them down in order on paper. Now ask your child to look for words and pictures that tell about herself. Help to cut them out and paste them around her name. Eventually, your child will recognize and find all the letters of her name.

Child writing

Craft: Me Collage

Activities where you play with words like cat/hat/bat in songs and rhymes build the ability to hear the smaller sounds in words.

Use letters to create words with a pattern, such as “at.” Change the first sound of the word by replacing the first letter with another. For example, change “cat” to “bat” by replacing the “c” with the “b”.

Child with letter tiles

Write: Letter Tiles

Labelling activities help children recognize written words and understand what they read. Help your child find pictures of things they are interested in.

Make a collection of magazine pictures that are alike in some way. If your child loves pets, collect pictures of dogs, cats, fish and birds. Label each picture clearly. Have your child sort them in different ways (size, colour, type of animal, etc.)

Kids Craft

Craft: Collage Collection

Writing activities help a child learn how words work and how letters represent words. Consider introducing your child to a new word everyday.

Help your child write and read words that interest him. Using magnetic letters, crayons, or pencil and paper, help him to write the names of family members, or words like, "truck" or "book". Adding pictures is an extension of this activity.

Child with markers

Write: Interesting Words

Writing helps children learn that letters and words represent sounds and have meaning.

Write

Talking with your child helps build language and vocabulary skills.

Talk

Reading together is the best way to help your child become a strong reader.

Read

Singing helps your child hear the sounds in words and build their vocabulary.

Sing

Play is how children learn, and how they come to understand their world.

Play

Say the names of the letters as you print your child’s name. Help your child write and read his own name. Print your child’s name on labels for her toys or other personal items. Eventually, your child will recognize his name. 

Your Child's Name (2)

A shopping list is one way to show your child that printed words represent real things. Show your child how you write your shopping list (and let him “write” one too). At the store, read the list with your child and find the items together. You can use pictures from flyers to create lists as well.

Scribble Write and Draw (3)

The same letter can look different between upper and lower case. Show and teach your child that there is a big R and a little r; a big G and a little g. With any book, not just an alphabet book, you can point out specific letters and talk about them. 

Ready for Reading

Find fun activities to do with your child

writing

Write: Tell Me a Story

Write: The Colour of the Week

Write: Rainbow Name

Write: Shopping List

Craft: Me Collage

Write: Letter Tiles

Craft: Collage Collection

Write: Interesting Words

writing Tips

Six skills that get your child ready for reading

Liking Books

Hearing words

Knowing words

Telling a story

Seeing words

Knowing letters

Storytime at Home

Dial-a-Story

Raising Confident Kids