Family Literacy day in Canada is January 27 and the Province of B.C. has proclaimed this a week-long event. Every weekday from January 26 to February 4 we will have FREE activities supporting family literacy throughout the Windermere Valley with a grand finale at the community hall in Invermere on February 4. You can pick up a schedule at the Invermere Public Library. The theme of this year’s Family Literacy Celebrations is “Play for Literacy”.
Play for Literacy includes all play that encourages literacy and numeracy development. The purpose of these celebrations is to encourage families to spend at least 15 minutes every day enjoying a learning activity.
There are so many activities that we play at that allow us to develop our literacy and numeracy skills. One of the best examples is the board game. It is a way that families can spend quality time with each other while improving literacy by following directions, reading clues/tasks and planning strategy. Often many games help to improve numeracy as well; think of all that money that you have to count up to prove that you have won the game or keeping track of points.
The Invermere Library has been hosting weekly Scrabble night every Wednesday at 6 p.m. Bring your family down for some fantastic family fun.
Ever think that you could explain your need to play poker as an educational endeavour? You can. Card games are an excellent way for families to learn numeracy skills, minus all those other vices that are often included with the game of poker.
If you can’t remember any of those great card games you used to play there are some excellent card game books at the libraries in Radium Hot Springs, Invermere and in Canal Flats, also check out resources online.
Find something that your family can learn how to do together. Research it by reading a book or looking it up online. Then give it a try or find an expert who can help you do it. One idea could be geocaching. This is an outdoor activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called “geocaches” or “caches”) anywhere in the world. It is a high-tech treasure hunt. Another fun activity is getting the whole family involved when planning a trip somewhere, get everyone to research and finding something special that they would want to do at your final destination.
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy along with the local libraries, the early childhood development team and many other community members will be showcasing various activities and resources for all members of the family. The finale to the week will take place at the Invermere Community Hall from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on February 4.
In the morning we will have a Baby Goose program where parents and their children 18 months and under will come together using play and rhyme.
Also in the morning we will be running a Strong Start program for pre-schoolers 0-5year-olds, where parents and children together learn through play-based education.
The Invermere library will be hosting a storytime event at 10 a.m. After lunch we will be having a board game tournament for school-aged children.
The Radium Library will also be there with writing from pictures activity.
We will also be announcing the winners of the Play for Literacy poster contest.
During the whole day there will be representatives from daycares, local businesses and other family education experts on hand to show you resources and share their knowledge. Come out and enjoy, all programs are FREE. Everyone is welcome.
Please contact April Chruszcz for information at 250-342-7668 or achruszcz@cbal.org. Look forward to seeing everyone there!