Laying a Literacy Foundation Early Leads to Strong Minds and a Healthy Life
Family Literacy Day 2012:
The province of Saskatchewan recently proclaimed January 27, 2012 as Family Literacy Day. Created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999, Family Literacy Day has come to be known as a day to celebrate family fun and family learning. This special day gives us reason to highlight the activities that bring us together providing our children with the essential foundation needed to thrive as they grow into adulthood.
Family Literacy at the Saskatchewan Literacy Network:
The Saskatchewan Literacy Network (SLN) has worked to promote lifelong literacy and life wide learning for over 20 years. We celebrate the many ways in which families learn and grow together. We firmly believe that a strong base in the joys of reading and the benefits of learning from our surroundings significantly influence our children’s learning and development, which stays with them throughout their lives. Supporting families in their learning activities ultimately benefits all of us as our children are better prepared for and enjoy school more while they seek to understand their world with a love of learning.
For the past five years, Marilyn Stearns has been promoting literacy as the SLN’s Family Literacy Coordinator. As her passion for literacy grows, she works to provide Saskatchewan literacy professionals with the tools to help families build strong literacy foundations that include a lasting love of learning.
Marilyn’s appreciation for literacy began when she had the good fortune to be trained as a Come Read With Me (CRWM) facilitator. Facilitating CRWM programs offered countless opportunities to help parents and caregivers understand their important role as their child’s first and most influential teacher.
From the Desk of Marilyn Stearns:
It is my firm belief that literacy provides a solid foundation where families, learn, grow, and create brighter futures. Family literacy programming provides a gentle, but powerful, way to enrich lives.
Celebrating Family Literacy is as easy as the passing of family traditions to the next generation through activities (decorating a Christmas tree) and storytelling. Playing board games, following recipes, learning to ride a bike, reading directions from a map, or visiting a museum are some of the fun activities that promote learning, help us understand our world, and teach us the lessons that we use throughout our lives.
Are you interested in learning more about family literacy? Please Email Marilyn Stearns or visit our website for more information: http://sk.literacy.ca.
What does family literacy mean to you?
How do you learn and grow within your family?
How have you celebrated family literacy and lifelong learning?
