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Family Literacy Day – 2023

Family Literacy Day is an initiative created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999 to raise awareness about the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. Every year on January 27, ABC Life Literacy Canada hosts Family Literacy Day, the largest literacy event in Canada. Literacy organizations, libraries, and schools hold numerous events and activities across the country in honour of this special initiative. This year’s theme is “Celebrate Your Heritage.”

“Canada is a great diverse country full of different cultures. Take time to explore and learn about your heritage. Celebrate what you’ve found and share your culture with others. There’s no better way to learn about your family, than together as a family.”

ABC Life Literacy Canada

In the next few days, through social media, we will share family learning activities and ideas to celebrate Family Literacy Day! To start with, here is a children’s picture book about family, diversity, inclusion, and the joy of everyday life that parents and children can enjoy together called ‘Family Means…’ by Matthew Ralph. When you finish reading this story, you can draw your family and write your own answer to the question, “what does family mean to you?”

 

Did you know?

The first family literacy program at CanLearn was developed and implemented in 1996. Since then, more than 10,000 families have benefited from our family literacy programs! We have trained over a thousand practitioners across Alberta and supported them in developing skills to unlock the potential of family learning in their communities.

The more parents learn, the more they are able to help a child learn. As they establish home environments to support children as learners and build their knowledge and skills, parents learn to encourage literacy development and a love of learning in a creative, exciting, and interactive way. In the process, they develop more confidence about their own learning and often enroll in adult continuing education.

 

Fun Ways to Celebrate Your Heritage and Family Literacy Day on January 27, 2023

Where in the World? Get a map of the world and label the locations where your relatives live. Do you still have relatives living in your heritage country? How is their life different than yours?

Photo Album Create a special photo album with pictures of family members you don’t see very often – grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Share stories and memories about them.

Family Cook Book Are there any special foods your family eats from your heritage country? Cook a family dinner with foods from the country (or various countries) your family came from. Make a family cookbook with your traditional recipes.

Ancestors An ancestor is a relative who lived before you. Together, complete the sentence, “My ancestors came from _________”. (List one or more countries)

 

Curious to learn more about family literacy programs at CanLearn?

Find out more about Family Literacy programs here.

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