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Get the Family Involved with Family Literacy Day

Most people think of literacy as reading and writing.

But it’s much more than that.

Literacy skills are used in everything we do, from communicating with one another to understanding the world in which we live.

Did you know that just 15 minutes a day can improve a child’s literacy skills dramatically, and can help a parent improve their skills as well?

Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is crucial to a child’s development.

ABC Life Literacy Canada created a national awareness initiative called Family Literacy Day on January 27 to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.

I participated in some family literacy activities and materials with my family over the holidays, thanks to ABC Life Literacy:

  • My kids and I followed a recipe together.  They learned about measuring and the different food groups.
  • We counted coins and they practiced counting money for different amounts.
  • We played Scrabble together.
  • We went grocery shopping together and they named all the fruits and vegetables we saw.
  • We read books together, including “Give me Back my Dad” by Robert Munsch.

You can also participate in literacy activities by downloading the Journey to Learning Passport and complete as many activities as you can leading up to Family Literacy Day.

Get involved with your kids with literacy-related activities by visiting www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca!

Take a learning journey with us for Family Literacy Day 2012 and enter to win 1 of 2 Family Literacy Day packs!

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parenting

Practicing Literacy is As Easy as A-B-C

by Ashley Tilley

September is all about back-to-school – time to get back into routines, make lunches and go to bed early. And since there’s so much to do and kids are still in summer mode, it’s hard to make sure the family is focusing on learning.

Learning together as a family is vital to a child’s future education. Doing family literacy activities not only helps develop children’s reading, writing and math skills, it also provides an opportunity for parents to learn something new too! Children raised in literate households are likely to enter grade one with several thousand hours of one-to-one pre-reading experience behind them.

Learning happens in many ways, especially in our day-to-day activities. In honour of September’s Life Literacy Month, ABC Life Literacy Canada offers 10 fun and easy ways to make literacy part of your family’s daily life.

1.  When making your grocery list, have your child write out the items you need to buy.

2.  At the store, ask your child to count out the money to make the purchase.

3.  Make it a habit to always read a story together at bedtime.

4.  When cooking dinner, involve your children in measuring the ingredients. This helps them understand fractions and measurements.

5.  Driving is the perfect opportunity to practice literacy. Read signs, billboards and licence plates together, and show your children the proper way to read a map.

6.  While on the Internet, make time to research something new that your family is interested in. Researching skills are important and help with reading and comprehension.

7.  In the car, sing along to songs on the radio. Singing encourages learning patterns of words, rhymes and rhythms, and is strongly connected to language skills.

8.  When playing a board game, read the instructions aloud to each other or count how many spaces to travel around the board.

9.  Involve your kids when you pay bills. This will teach them strong financial skills early on in life.

10.  Children follow by example, so ensure reading is part of your daily life too!

 

For other family literacy tips and activities, visit FamilyLiteracyDay.ca.

ABC Life Literacy Canada is a non-profit organization that inspires Canadians to increase their literacy skills. We connect and mobilize business, unions, government, communities and individuals to support lifelong learning and achieve our goals through leadership in programs, communications and partnerships. ABC Life Literacy Canada envisions a Canada where everyone has the skills they need to live a fully engaged life.

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