While we’re celebrating NWT Literacy Week, others around Canada are celebrating Postmedia’s Raise-a-Reader Week. Although we don’t have this program in the NWT, the NWT Literacy Council can help you raise your own little reader!
Read from the start. Start reading with your newborn in those very first days. Even very young babies respond to the warmth of your touch, and the soothing sound of a book being read aloud. To learn more about the positive interaction that’s happening between you and your baby when you set aside time to read to them, see our resource Love Grows Brains. Use our Steps for Reading Together as a guide.
Reread favourites. Most children love to hear their favorite stories over and over again. Rereading books provides an opportunity to hear or see something that may have been missed the first time, and provides another chance to hear a favorite part.
Share books every day. Read with your child every day, even when they can read on their own. The brains of babies develop fast during the first years of life. You can help that brain develop by reading books with your small child. Take our 1000 Books Before Kindergarten Challenge.
Visit the library. Our NWT public libraries are great resources for books, helpful advice, story times, parent and tot programs, and more. Make visiting the library part of your family's routine. Use our Family Literacy resource Snuggle Up Together for some age appropriate suggestions of books to borrow.
Share reading and writing in everyday life. Take the time to show your child ways that adults use reading and writing in daily life. Grocery lists, chore lists, and recipes all involve important reading and writing skills. Check out these favourite family literacy resources, Recipes for Fun and 25 More Recipes for Fun, for activities that will be fun for the whole family.
Talk a lot. A child's vocabulary grows through rich conversations with others. No matter how old your child is, talk about what you're doing, talk in full sentences, and sprinkle your conversations with new words.
Want to learn more about the literacy development of your child? Check out our resource Literacy Development- from Birth to Age Three to get tips on how to support literacy at different stages of your child’s development.
- Charlotte Upton
