Barbara Latkowski
Caledonia Courier
It was an exciting morning for the students at David Hoy Elementary School on Jan. 27.
Teachers, parents, family and community members gathered with the students.
With books in hand, everyone got together with one simple mission in mind: to read.
Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999.
It is held annually to promote awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.
Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is crucial to a child’s development.
Susan Burck, principal at David Hoy couldn’t agree more.
“Literacy begins at home. It was so great to see parents, friends and community members come out to the school in support of this idea,” Burck said.
“Having everyone here…it was such a warm feeling.”
And parents do get something out of reading to their children as well.
According to ABC Literacy Canada, family literacy programs focus on parents as the means to improve the reading and writing skills of all family members.
By reading to children and engaging in fun literacy activities, parents are actively keeping their own skills sharp while at the same time strengthening the relationships within their families which, in turn, encourages lifelong learning.