Kids and adults of all ages will love this story. It is important for parents to read to their children. It is also important for parents to spend play time with children. The Homespun family reading program, developed at Brooks Campus of Medicine Hat College by Karen Nelson and Bonnie Annicchiarico, recommends story stretching activities to parent participants. During the workshop time when parents come together to talk about the stories they've read to their children, they are also encouraged to share story activities they have tried.
Ideas can be as diverse as crafts, field trips, dramatizations or songs.
For Roch Carriers' The Hockey Sweater , the family created a map of North America, found stickers for every NHL team, and placed them on the map. They then discussed where the majority of teams were and why. In The Dark , the children drew pictures of what they were afraid of. Alphabet books such as Bill Martin s Chicka Chicka Boom Boom lend themselves to a variety of ABC activities such as putting together a family ABC book using pictures cut out of old magazines. Puppets and masks encourage children to act out the stories but it also allows them to use their creative genius as they create masks and puppet from materials around the house.