National Family Literacy Day is just around the corner, on January 27. Here at the NWT Literacy Council we’ve been working hard to help communities host Family Literacy Day celebrations.
Our theme this year is Get Active Outside. We chose this because, even during our long cold winter months, it’s important for children to get outside and get active as much as possible. We also wanted to focus on physical literacy. Physical literacy is mastering basic movement and sport skills that allow children to read their environment and make the appropriate decisions that will help them move with confidence and control in physically active situations.
Our Youth Services Coordinator, Amanda Grobbecker, created our new Winter Games & Activities how to kit to go with our Get Active Outside theme. It has 25 ideas and activities to keep kids entertained all winter long! Look for this booklet on our website under Resources – How to Kits.
We’re invited to William McDonald School in Yellowknife on January 27th for their Celebration of Literacy. We are looking forward to seeing all the projects that students will present, as well as giving out some books to celebrate Family Literacy Day.
On Saturday afternoon, January 30, we’ll be over at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre in Yellowknife at the Festival of Silliness. We will display our Family Literacy resources. We will have free resources and our new Talk to Me t-shirts. We’ll also have activities from our Winter Games & Activities how to kit, and prizes to give away to children.
Thanks to a Get Active grant we received from the NWT Recreation and Parks Association, we will host three Story Walks in NWT communities over the next couple of months. A Story Walk is an opportunity for children to experience reading a book while outdoors. A path, trail, or neighbourhood is selected and children will go from post to post, with each post holding a page of a particular book. Story Walks promote literacy and outdoor physical activity, and encourage parent and community involvement.
In anticipation of Family Literacy Day, we’ve donated books and resources and sent all our Storysacks to communities for people to enjoy during their celebrations.
What are you doing for Family Literacy Day? Please let us know. We’d love to share your photos and activities on social media, in our newsletter or in Literacy This Week. Comment below, send us an email to nwtliteracy@nwtliteracy.ca or post something on our Facebook page.
-- Charlotte Upton
