Ireland
Operation Fitness Station DVD
My name is Hilary Parkinson and I am a 5th class teacher in Clarecastle NS, Co. Clare. The children in my class were involved in the Junior Entrepreneur Programme. The children came up with the idea of a fitness DVD for kids….by kids and so OPERATION FITNESS STATION was born!
The DVD (1 hour 45 mins) is jam packed with fun activities that help children get active in an enjoyable way. It features seven sections – cardio, dance, strengthening circuit, hurling (primarily fundamental movement skills promoted through hurling games), yoga and a fun and games section as well as two cool down routines.
It also contains video messages from local and national sports personalities eg. Keith Wood and Andy Lee promoting healthy lifestyles. DVD is only €10 and as such offers great value.
contact Hilary on 0876997574 or at Clarecastle NS 065 6828274.
Europe
The Executive Summary of the European Commission report “Family literacy in Europe: using parental support initiatives to enhance early literacy development”, provides an overview of research, strategies, policies, initiatives and programmes in the field of family literacy. (2009)
USA
Renegade Buggies Awarded ‘Instructional Game of the Year’ USA
The Institute for Financial Literacy named Renegade Buggies “Instructional Game of the Year” during its Excellence In Financial Literacy Education (EIFLE) Awards ceremony in San Antonio, Texas, in 2015.
“Renegade Buggies competed with games from around the globe,” said John Linfield, president of the Institute for Financial Literacy, which provides financial education, counselling and information to nearly 500,000 consumers and is a national authority on adult financial education.
“(National Centre for Families Learning) NCFL’s game engages parents and children in a joint-learning process, reinforcing money-saving tips that parents may or may not know while instilling the value of fiscal responsibility in children from a young age,” added Linfield.
Renegade Buggies combines basic budgeting and money management practices with entertaining gameplay. The app is made available by NCFL with funding from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, and is available for free download in iTunes and Google Play.
Harvard Family Research Project
Effective partnerships can result in innovative strategies to reach more families, create meaningful conversations, and influence family engagement practices.
We offer two resources that can help you develop the partnerships that matter for family engagement and children’s learning.
Web Conference Recording: Policy Matters: Building a Family Engagement System
On April 24, Harvard Family Research Project organized a web conference at which educators, philanthropists, and policymakers from around the country discussed strategies that leaders can use to embed family engagement into early childhood and elementary education systems. You can listen to the web conference recording to learn about different ideas that emerged during the conversation. Among the strategies discussed were tips for making sure that family engagement is integrated into the work of all members of the learning community, thoughts on how to keep family engagement work sustainable, and advice for how to use frameworks to navigate complex systems.
Parents and Children Preparing for Kindergarten Together
The transition to school is a particularly important time to think about strategic partnerships for family engagement. In 2008, local preschool teachers in Durham, North Carolina, approached Durham’s Partnership for Children-a community-based collaborative-seeking advice on how to determine if their students were ready for kindergarten. What resulted was a successful transition-to-kindergarten initiative. Read about the range of strategies the initiative utilizes to get families, early childhood programs, schools, and communities working together around the transition to school.
Canada
Family Literacy in Canada have a list of good resources on this link.
Dads Playbook gives ideas on how dads can coach their children to read. Free to download.