Issue 35 Winter 2016

www.clubamick.ca

InsideLetter from Amick .................................................. .......... 2Postcards ...................................................... .................... 3Fun with Amick .................................................................4Snow Play ...........................................................................5Happy Birthday Club Amick.............................................6Helping Hands ..................................................................7Family Time ........................................................................8

The Lieutenant Governor’s

Club Amick

CLUB AMICK NEWS

“Beaver Clan” by Lisa Boivin“This is a portrait of a wonderful woman whom I was privileged to know for a short time while she was here. She was from the Beaver Clan. She was one of the first Indigenous students to

welcome me to U of T. She lived by the teachings and had a beautiful heart.”~~~~~

Lisa is a member of the Deninu K'ue First Nation in Northwest Territories. She is an artist and a student at University of Toronto.

2

Hi everyone!

There’s still snow on the ground, but I love that there are signs of spring all around us. Sometimes when I sit really quietly, I can hear the bird songs. They sound different now that spring is around the corner. The wind is changing, the days are longer and the air is warmer.

I can’t wait for spring!

Do you have any favourite signs of spring? Why not draw what spring looks like in your community and send it to Club Amick. Who knows, you might see it in the newsletter!

I know of a community that is really pretty in the spring time. It’s called Kapuskasing. How many of you know where that is? It’s a town in northern Ontario on Highway 11.

A lot of people who live there work in the paper mill. It’s an important town for Club Amick because some of the children who get books from Club Amick live there now. They are from Kashechewan, a Cree community on the northern shore of the Albany River.

Because of some flooding of the river, many homes in the community were ruined by water. The families had to leave Kashechewan and fly to Kapuskasing. They are staying in Kapuskasing until their homes are fixed. This could take a long time, so many of the children are now going to school in Kapuskasing at the Kash-Kap School for Evacuees.

I hope that these children like their new school. It can be hard to get used to a new town, a new place to live and a new school! I hope that they can move home soon and be back with all of their friends and families.

Love,

Amick

3

To: Amick

From: YouSend Amick a postcard about your

community! Mail it to:Dear Amick

c/o Southern Ontario Library Service1 Yonge Street, Suite 1504

Toronto, ON M5E 1E5

Kinsey - Kashechewan, ON

Aimee - Kashechewan, ON

Keegan - Kashechewan, ON

Jamiee - Kashechewan, ON

Aiden - Kashechewan, ON

4

Club Amick turns 10!

Ten years ago, the former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, James Bartleman, started some very important literacy programs in the north. Club Amick was one of them! Mr. Bartleman visited many communities and he noticed a lot of empty bookcases in libraries and classrooms. He felt that all kids deserve to have new books in their communities, so he started Club Amick. Since 2006, over 200,000 books have been sent to almost 6,000 kids in 35 First Nations! I wonder how many Club Amick books you have at your house?

I would love to have Club Amick continue for another 10 years, wouldn’t you? If you

are a fan of Club Amick, write us a letter telling us what you like

about the club. Let us know if you have ideas for books you would like to see in

the next shipment to your school. You can

also tell us all about yourself and what your community is

like. What’s the most interesting thing about

the community you live in?

We always LOVE to hear from you and

we can’t wait to receive more of your beautiful artwork on

the postcards we send to your teachers!

Colour me!

5

Fun with AmickWord Scramble

Can you unscramble the words below? Here’s a helping hint : All of the words are about Club Amick!

EBAVRE __ __ __ __ __ __ K0B0S __ __ __ __ __ VRIER __ __ __ __ __ MGAES __ __ __ __ __

RDENGIA __ __ __ __ __ __ __ AFMLYI __ __ __ __ __ __

Word Scramble Answers: Beaver; Books; River; Games; Reading; Family

Connect the Dots!

Complete the image of Amick by connecting the dots. Draw a line between each number, starting at number 1 and continuing all the way to number 55!

6

Snow PlayWinter isn’t a time to stay indoors and wait for spring. There’s a whole wonderland of activities out there for you and your family to take part in. Sledding, snowboarding, and skiing are only a few. Having fun in the snow can be a great way to enjoy the winter season with your friends.

For a swift flight over snow, tobogganing is a sport that’s as exciting as skiing or skating. Did you know that tobogganing first became a sport on the slopes of Mount Royal in Montreal? World competition sledding today is often described as tobogganing, but it actually involves bobsledding, luging, and skeleton sledding.

Ice skating is used in several winter sports, such as figure skating, speed skating, and ice hockey. Did you know that ice skating is at least a thousand years old and probably much older? Before metal was used, the first skates were made from shank or rib bones of elk, oxen, reindeer and other animals.

Another great activity to try when there is snow on the ground is snowshoeing! Snowshoeing is one of the oldest methods of getting through the snow and it has been around for over 6,000 years. It’s a great winter sport and it’s a fun way of getting exercise and making your way through winter conditions.

Fun Activities to do in Winter!• Snow Graffiti – Mix food colouring with water in a spray bottle and decorate the white canvas in your backyard.• Tic-Tac-Snow – Use criss-crossed sticks and pinecones as game pieces.• Frosty Toss – Have a snowball-throwing contest! Make a target by creating a bright circle in the snow with coloured water in a spray bottle.

Fun Winter Facts• Winter is the season with the shortest days and the lowest temperatures.• Trees and plants stop growing in the winter.• Many animals hibernate or migrate away from the cold weather.

For more ideas on outdoor play, check out: http://www.parents.com/fun/activities/outdoor/snow-activities-kids.

7

Helping HandsAre you a helper? Do you help your teacher clean up after class? Do you read to your little sister? Do you get your own lunch ready before school? Helping is an important part of being in a family and a community.

For this craft all you need to do is trace your hands on some scrap paper and cut them out. Or you can use these hands to cut out.

After you have cut out the hand shapes, write one thing on each hand that you do to be a super helper in your family, your school or in your community.

Take a Guess!Can you guess which of the following two words is Cree for helper and which one is Ojibway for helper?

Wiidookaage Onîsohkamakew

Answer: Onisohkamakew is Cree and Wiidookaage is Ojibway

Family Time

© Ontario Library Service - North / Southern Ontario Library Service ISSN 1911-4699

Club Amick Newswww.clubamick.ca

Writers: Staff of OLS - North and SOLSLayout: Ontario Library Service - North

Distribution: Library Service Centre

Club Amick News is a triannual publication.

Ontario Library Service - North 334 Regent St. Sudbury, ON P3C 4E2

1-800-461-6348 www.olsn.ca

There is a bookplate on your book for you to put your name on. The book belongs to you to read in a quiet place alone, or share it with your family, friends and class.

Sign It, It’s Yours!

This book belongs to:

The Lieutenant Governor’s

Club Amick

Need some ideas to encourage children to enjoy reading? A good place to start is with one of the Club Amick story books they bring home. Share the storybook together by reading it aloud. Afterwards, have fun by finding a non-fiction book with the same theme as the storybook. For example, if the storybook is What Pet Should I Get, by Dr. Seuss, then find non-fiction books or a website about pets.

Extend the storytelling experience by doing activities and playing games after you have read the story. You can create characters and props out of recycled paper and household items, such as scrap fabric and tissue boxes. Use the characters and props to act out the story, put on a puppet show, make up new stories or ask questions about the story’s characters.

There are many ways to include storytelling in other literacy activities. You can do something every day to help kids become avid readers. Some ideas include:• Ask your child to write down the grocery list.• Have some winter fun and use a spray bottle with food colouring to write messages in the snow.• Bake with your child using a recipe. Your child can read the recipe and help with measuring the ingredients.• Pull out a family album and tell stories about when the pictures were taken.

It’s important to let children decide which activities they find the most fun, and be open to other activities they may enjoy. This will lead to having fun together, making memories and developing their long-term literacy skills. For more ideas, visit ABC Life Literacy Canada at http://abclifeliteracy.ca/fld/15-minutes-of-fun.