Facilitated By: Erin Alladin, Bridget George, the Strive Team
Join us the morning of Saturday, October 21st for this year's Annual Literacy Conference! This year's theme is "Beyond the Pages: Bringing Books to Life" where we will be engaging in two keynote sessions that will inspire us to view storytime and book reading as more than words on a page, but rather as a time of genuine connection where anything is possible with the use of our imagination! We will learn some ways to bring storytelling to life through different aspects of books that we may not have paid as much attention to. Breakfast will be provided.
Erin Alladin will begin the morning with "Readaloud Remix: Using Songs, Stories, and Movement to Bring Books to Life". In this session, we will explore the endless possibilities of intentional and interactive read-alouds. Reading books aloud is a great way to set young children up for a love of reading, but that’s just the beginning. Join author and educator Erin Alladin to experience how bringing songs, games, and movement into a read-aloud can bring books to life and help little ones make connections between the text, their own life, and the wider world. Using her picture book Outside, You Notice as a model text, Erin will take you through activities she uses in her own author presentations, inspired by her years spent creating programming at summer camp, in classrooms, and in the wider community. Get ready to raise your voice, move your body, and think about how each activity can help accomplish a range of pedagogical goals.
Erin Alladin is an author, editor, and passionate outdoor educator. The daughter of a forester and a teacher with a passion for gardening, Erin has always been a voracious student of nature, and she has always been excited to share what she learns. Her youth was spent teaching music, drama, and outdoor skills to kids at summer camp, and since the 2021 publication of her picture book Outside, You Notice, Erin has been thrilled to use those same skills to bring literacy to life in her author presentations. Today Erin lives north of Parry Sound, Ontario, with her spouse, an ever-growing garden, and not enough bookshelves.
Bridget George will follow with "Building Windows and Mirrors with Picture Books ", a discussion about the way picture books can provide valuable connection for children to themselves and the world around them. Windows to see things they may not get the opportunity to otherwise and Mirrors to see themselves, their feelings and communities reflected back to them. Wrapping up the discussion is an illustration activity to connect with our own inner child by collaborating as group to illustrate a short story together.
Bridget George is an award-winning Anishinaabe author and illustrator raised on Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, a community along the shore of Lake Huron. She currently makes her home in London, ON with her husband David and son Noah.
Bridget is the winner of the 21/22 Periodical Marketers of Canada's Indigenous Literature Award which was awarded for her debut picture book "It's a Mitig!"
She is a Fanshawe College Distinguished Alumni Award winner and recently received a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection for her most recent work: "Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior"
Outside of picture books, her recent projects include creating the collateral graphic for the Walt Disney Company's Native American Heritage Month campaign through their Re:Imagine Tomorrow initiative.
Bridget is passionate about positive self-image, lifelong learning, visual storytelling, and positive Indigenous representation for children and youth. Her work is heavily inspired by the natural world, my ancestral language, and the journey of parenthood. Learn more about Bridget and her work by visiting www.bridgetgeorge.com.
To view the event package, please use the following link: Beyond the Pages: Bringing Books to Life Event Package
Saturday, October 21
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Portuguese Club of London
134 Falcon Street
London, ON
N5W 4Z1
Free
*Breakfast will be provided
** Ticket types are based on the county you WORK in