Blog

May is Speech and Hearing Month.  Speech, language, and hearing are all linked to literacy. Children who have smaller vocabularies as preschoolers are more likely to struggle with learning to read.   Children who have trouble pronouncing sounds can have difficulty learning to spell and sound out words.  Children with undiagnosed hearing loss are at risk for reading and other academic delays. … Read more.

The NWT Centennial Library in Hay River was very lucky to have a visit from the acclaimed French Canadian illustrator, Geneviève Després, during the 2016 TD Canada Children's Book Week. She gave a workshop on the process of illustration, using one of her books. Participants’ reactions to the presentation stood out for me. People listened with great interest and watched with enthusiasm as the… Read more.

Last week Sandhya Koirala, the assistant librarian at the Inuvik Public Library and I were lucky enough to attend the Training Institute 2016, held by the Centre for Family Literacy in Edmonton. It was a great week filled with learning, fun, and getting to meet others in the family literacy field. Our training started off with a two-day Introduction to Family Literacy. Our instructors, Donna and… Read more.

We were very interested in the recent labour market forecast for the NWT.  That’s because the NWT Literacy Council exists to promote and support the skills that enable NWT residents to participate fully in work, community, and families. Because of our mandate, experience and expertise we were part of the Government of the Northwest Territories’ Skills 4 Success initiative – an effort to help NWT… Read more.

The Yellowknife Public Library hosted a Little Free Libraries workshop recently with Eric Binion and Simon Taylor, a local architect. Eric built Yellowknife’s very first little free book exchange. This summary will hopefully inspire you to create your very own in whatever corner of the Northwest Territories you live. First off, there is a difference between a Little Free Library and an… Read more.

When I got to my house on a sunny day I found a note pinned to my door, It was from Aggie and what she had to say She sure liked my verses and asked me for more. She told me that April was poetry month I said that I wasn’t a poet I told her that I was a versifier And she said “well, don’t I know it” “But couldn’t you come up with three hundred words?” She said “I need them for a blog…” I told… Read more.

“Our children and youth are the change makers of the future. Education is the key. If youth are supported they will change their circumstances, communities, and this country,” Roberta Jamieson told people at a fundraising luncheon in Yellowknife last week. Ms. Jamieson is the President and CEO of Indspire, an indigenous-led charitable foundation that invests in the education of indigenous people… Read more.

Take a Break!  That is the name and the message of a new parent engagement program that we are testing at the NWT Literacy Council. A similar program at the Grande Prairie Society for Support to Pregnant and Parenting Teens was the inspiration.  We want to attract parents to a fun activity with an opportunity to meet and socialize with other parents. During the evening program, a facilitator… Read more.

I have always been an anxious person. In my university days my anxiety really kicked in, and I would awake in the middle of the night, unable to get back to sleep because I was worrying about an assignment due weeks away. This usually resulted in me staying up working on it, then heading to classes the next day utterly exhausted but with a rough draft complete. Although productive in the moment… Read more.

Baby onesies, a snow suit, other warm clothes, diapers, a box for a new baby to sleep in, bedding, a book, and on and on … Those are a few of the 50 items every new mum in Finland finds in their Finnish Baby Box. The Finnish Baby Box began more than 75 years ago. Originally available only to families with low incomes, now all expectant mothers can receive the package if they register for a… Read more.