2005 News Releases
January 27, 2005Ready, set, read! Celebrate Family Literacy Day
Edmonton... Albertans are asked to take some time today to encourage a child to learn to read and write, helping prepare him or her for a lifetime of success. January 27 is Family Literacy Day, a national event organized to promote the importance of reading and learning together as a family. Various events will be held in communities around Alberta to highlight family literacy.
"Building a child's literacy skills begins in the home and starts at birth with the day-to-day activities of the family," said Advanced Education and Technology Minister Dave Hancock. "I invite all families to celebrate Family Literacy Day and make literacy a priority this year by encouraging their children to adopt good literacy habits early in life."
As children's first teachers, parents are literacy role models for their children. Simple activities like following a recipe or reading signs in the shopping mall together, singing a rhyme or lullaby, reading a bedtime story, and talking about how the day went are all things parents can do everyday that help to build a strong literacy foundation for their children.
Currently, the Government of Alberta provides support to 44 community-based family literacy programs around the province, through the Parent-Child Literacy Strategy. Since 2001, more than $3.5 million has been committed through the strategy to a variety of projects that aim to strengthen the understanding and ability of parents and caregivers to support the development of early language, literacy and social skills in their children.
Communities and families across Canada first celebrated Family Literacy Day in 1999. It is a national initiative coordinated by ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation, a not-for-profit organization committed to promoting literacy.
Additional information about family literacy programs in Alberta is available on the Alberta Advanced Education and Technology website at www.advancededucation.gov.ab.ca/other/literacy/literacy.asp.
