Last week was National Book Week and children all over the state celebrated by getting dressed up in their favourite fictional characters. Children at Gowrie OSHC Ryde got in on the all action by developing a literacy project in the lead-up to Book Week.
“National Book Week is a fantastic annual event that really encourages and fosters a love of reading in young children and is something us educators at Gowrie OSHC Ryde support,” Alyssa Cardillo, Gowrie OSHC Ryde Coordinator said.
“So at the beginning of the Term we began talking to the children about Book Week and what we could do to celebrate it this year,” Alyssa said.
After much discussion with the children, a Book Week display area was set up for the children to access, to encourage them to create their own story.
“In weeks leading up to Book Week, the children were involved in numerous literacy activities to enhance their knowledge on the history of the week and why we celebrate it. Some of the activities included the children creating their own poems, writing songs, writing a short blurb on a story of their choice and creating bookmarks,” Alyssa said.
The children were provided with the resources needed to create their own short story that we would read aloud during Book Week, an event that parents were also invited to.
“One of the best ideas came from a child in Year 2, who suggested that we create a group OSHC story,” Alyssa said. “She explained that we could create our own picture then write a sentence to go with it. At the end of Book Week we put together everyone’s pages and read the story we had created.”
To finish off Book Week, Alyssa read a story named Aunty Hazel and the Guardians – by Hazel Moreton and Tashe Long. The book is true story about how Aunty Hazel teaches children about the long proud history of Aboriginal people. “I chose this book because it featured fantastic images drawn by school children, which I thought would inspire the children,” Alyssa said.
During the literacy project children were given the chance to broaden their understanding of literacy and reading by contributing through play and meaningful projects, listening to others’ ideas and recognising a whole of group contribution.
“The children were free to offer their ideas and own creative flair when it came to Book Week. In the end they were able to come up with some amazing book displays and stories which we all enjoyed,” Alyssa said.
