The Province of British Columbia and communities across BC proclaimed January 22nd – 29th as Family Literacy Week.  Family Literacy Week celebrates family literacy and raises awareness about the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.
 
This year’s theme was “Tuning into Music:  Listen! Make! Move!” The theme highlights the vital role music plays in children’s lives and the importance of engaging in play-based literacy activities as a family.
 
CBAL communities across the Basin and Boundary celebrated all week with fun activities for the entire family. Music helped promote literacy skills while families had fun with song and rhyme. 
Several communities enjoyed some musical fun with Mr. Mojo - a talented and entertaining children’s performer who sang and played music while families made instruments and danced along to the music. Some communities held Unplug and Play Challenges to reduce screen time.
 
Other events included family games, crafts, singing, drumming, puppet shows and “Book-nics.” Teddies slept overnight at the library, and families enjoyed story walks, face painting, spelling bees and sing and swim events. Preschoolers, parents, caregivers and staff enjoyed circle times, literacy-themed crafts, giveaways and nibbling on yummy snacks.
 
Families received handouts full of fun, music-based activities. Suggestions varied – from singing to babies and dancing with toddlers to making instruments with preschoolers.
 
These events didn’t just celebrate the benefits of literacy. They also brought awareness to the important role families play in life-long learning. Just spending 15 minutes a day reading, playing a game, singing, or following a recipe together can improve a child’s literacy skills and overall success!

Sonia Tavares
Community Literacy Coordinator
Columbia Basin alliance for Literacy - Trail & Area

Life is busy!  As parents, we face endless tasks to ensure our families get where they need to be, get fed and get to bed on time. Phew…  What about supporting our children’s learning and just spending time together?  How can we fit it all together?  There are some great ideas to help you out - how about a recipe for a family night in with good food, a little learning and a giggle or two?

Step 1: Let’s start with dinner.  No need to send the family out of the kitchen while you get things ready.  Choosing and following a recipe together is a great way to learn planning, measuring and early literacy skills.  Not sure where to start?  Check out the Cooking with Kids website. There you will find fun simple ideas to get your little chefs going in the kitchen! How about a pita pizza with veggies and dip?

Step 2: Next is picking a family game.  Games are a fantastic way to combine family time and learning.  Games involve counting, problem solving and cooperation.  Choose a favourite board game or get active with balloon ping pong or family charades.  If you have little ones, you can help them by teaming up or by helping them to read and count so they can be part of the action.    

Remember that you can change up the rules to make games work for your family.  For example, for little ones who are too young to understand crib, just turn a card and use the pegs to count the holes together.  The pegs can race for the finish line with everyone cheering for their peg to win the race!

Step 3: Before wrapping up your family night, it is time for a bedtime story.  Find a spot (a couch, a bed or a pile of pillows under a homemade fort) to cuddle up together and share a story.  If you have older children, invite them to help by being a character in the story or being the storyteller.  Your little ones can hold the book or be in charge of turning the pages. This is a great time to show your children that reading is fun. Pick something silly and laugh out loud or pick something sweet and snuggle in together.  Looking for good book ideas?  Ask your local librarian for a list of the best books for your children’s ages.  They have tons of great ideas!

Turn the family time you have into a recipe for fun!  For more ideas visit ABC Life Literacy Canada or Decoda Literacy Solutions. 

Tracy Spannier
Community Literacy Coordinator
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy - Revelstoke

Corinne Svardtfeldt enjoys helping others.  As the Castlegar settlement worker and English instructor, Corinne feels lucky to meet newcomers and to help them feel at home in their new community.

Corinne was a teacher on Vancouver Island before she moved to Castlegar with her young family.  To help settle there, she went to CBAL’s family literacy programs with her three children.  Because she had a background in teaching, she asked if there were any jobs at CBAL.  Soon, she began facilitating adult and family literacy programs. She worked with seniors and families with young children for the next six years!

About three years ago, Corinne became the CBAL settlement worker.  Then she returned to school, training to be an English as a second language (ESL) teacher. Now, she is the settlement worker and teaches all of CBAL Castlegar’s English classes.

There are many opportunities for newcomers in Castlegar. At Conversation Club, participants often tell others about their home countries. This helps them understand one other and their diverse backgrounds.  “Very few of our learners are from the same country, so it’s great to learn from one another,” says Corinne.  One memorable moment at Conversation Club was when the group was discussing gestures.  “For some people, shrugging was new.  Raising your shoulders and holding your hands out to say ‘I don’t know’ was another lesson in language.” 

At ESL Family Time, there are many activities to share as a family. For Family Literacy Week 2017, families made instruments, learned new songs and rhymes and plan to create a songbook of the songs they have learned! There is also childcare, so parents can have adult time to practice vocabulary and learn new ways to support their children’s learning.

Corinne says the best part of her job is the people.  She knows that settling in a new country and learning English can be frustrating and tiring.  “People can be really hard on themselves,” says Corinne.  “I tell them that what they’re doing is really great.” 

Corinne especially likes to see families transition through programs.  “Newcomers might start by taking English classes and get help registering their children for school.  Then, they might take programs that help them support their children’s learning or help their older kids at work.”  Corinne enjoys seeing new Canadians who never drove in their home country get their B.C. driver’s licenses.  She says, “I love to see what began as learning English end in really being settled here.”

If you would like to volunteer to help a newcomer, contact your CBAL community literacy coordinator!

Katie Andruschuk
Community Literacy Coordinator
Columbia Basin alliance for Literacy - Windermere Valley