January 27 – Family Literacy Day
Family Literacy Day (FLD) is a national initiative by ABC Life Literacy Canada. It was created in 1999 to inspire a love for learning and literacy in families. Each year, on January 27, literacy organizations, libraries, and schools host events and activities to celebrate this initiative. In 2024, Family Literacy Day will mark its 25th anniversary.
The theme this year is “Let’s Have a Family Party”. ABC Life Literacy Canada encourages families to celebrate by making food, singing songs, and playing games. They will present a virtual event on January 27th with FLD Honorary Chair Barbara Reid as part of the celebrations. You can register here.
“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” says children’s book author Emilie Buchwald. This simple advice can be challenging for families to follow. Too often, reading and learning together as a family takes a backseat to hectic family lives. Electronic devices are increasingly pulling both children and adults away from reading books. Too much emphasis is often placed on developing reading skills rather than reading for pleasure. Left to our devices (pun intended), children and adults are bound to drift toward screens. Our emails, texts, and social media still deliver words, and we know that with the help of apps, websites, and other digital resources, children can learn about anything they are interested in, from animals and plants to history and outer space. While digital resources are valuable for acquiring knowledge, they cannot replicate the joy derived from reading a physical book.
CanLearn will celebrate Family Literacy Day throughout January by sharing book recommendations with our families, learners, and clients.
The Witch’s Cat and The Cooking Catastrophe: A Fantastical Tale of Magic, Mischief, and Mishap is an excellent book for young readers. This funny and heart-warming story is fun to read aloud, with many opportunities for children to join in and guess what happens next.
Becoming Better Grownups is a beautifully illustrated adult book. It shares the messages we can all discover merely by listening and reveals that – in a world in its current state – the secret to well-being is to become more childlike.
DID YOU KNOW?
The first family literacy program at CanLearn was developed and implemented in 1996. Since then, more than 12,000 families have benefited from our family literacy programs!
WHAT BOOK DO YOU RECOMMEND?
Whether it’s a children’s book, fiction, fantasy, crime, history, chick lit, a current bestseller, or any other genre, please share with us what you’re currently reading. You can share on social media with the hashtag #CanLearnSociety or comment below.
Nada Jerkovic
Manager, Literacy Programs