Each year ABC Life Literacy Canada celebrates Family Literacy Day on January 27th, raising awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family. An crucial indicator of child success, there are loads of free resources available to help parents and caregivers be the best possible support they can be.
Family Literacy in Canada
- Children spend five times as much time outside the classroom as they do in school, so parents and caregivers need the tools to support their learning (The Read-Aloud Handbook, Jim Trelease, 2006).
- Children whose parents are involved with them in family literacy activities score 10 points higher on standardized reading tests (The Effect of Family Literacy Interventions On Children’s Acquisition of Reading: From Kindergarten to Grade 3, Conducted by Monique Sénéchal for the National Center for Family Literacy, 2006)
- One year of parental education has a bigger positive impact on whether a son or daughter will attend a postsecondary institution than an extra $50,000 in parental income (Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, 2011)
- A mother’s reading skill is the greatest factor to affect her children’s future academic success, outweighing other factors, like neighborhood and family income (National Institute of Health, 2010).
Did you know that early literacy begins before a child can read? According to research by the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network, children who are successful readers have usually engaged in many early language and literacy activities before starting school. In fact, hearing and engaging with books read aloud to them is one of the most important activities for infants, toddlers, and pre-school children.
We are here to help. In fact, given literacy has such a positive impact on children and families, each Monday at Creating Together is committed to literacy. We hope you will join us!
Designed for one-on-one or small group storytelling, Literacy Mondays feature developmentally appropriate books and CDs. This gives children the opportunity to read and sing along with parents/caregivers and a staff member. Through the week, you can enjoy our reading nook at Creating Together with your child, filled with a wide range of books and comfortable seating.
Out in the Toronto community, there are lots of other opportunities to create positive memories of literacy with children:
- Check out the Parkdale Library’s “recommended reads” for family literacy.
- Welcome to School is a program offering resources and programs for newcomer student success.
- Children’s Book Bank provides free books and literacy support to children living in low-income neighborhoods across Toronto, such as dictionaries for newcomers, and these family literacy tips.
- Toronto’s ReadUP‘s mission is to provide children with access to free reading support that complements and consolidates the literacy learning they receive in school.
- Enjoy your favourite children’s stories any time with Dial-a-Story and OverDrive eBooks & eAudiobooks for Kids.
- Handbook of Language and Literacy Development