Family Literacy Day
Family Literacy Day takes place every January 27th to raise awareness about 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, improving a child’s literacy skills dramatically, and can help a parent improve their skills as well.
Simple things you can do today!:
- Enter our contest – starting on January 20th for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Indigo or your local bookstore. Follow us Facebook to learn more.
- Read aloud with your babies and children – just 15 minutes a day has a positive impact.
- Sign up for the Imagination Library Program – a free book a month mailed to your home (for children 0 to 4 years old). Learn more.
Reading aloud promotes language development, communication skills, and builds pathways to reading.
Here are 5 direct benefits to reading as a family:
- Builds Connection: Reading allows families to connect. Not only do kids feel important when they are read to, but families who have a positive attitude towards reading books, in turn, help their children positively view literacy.
- Develops Language: Even though children may be too young to read themselves, hearing their caregivers read to them is just as important. Studies show that babies who are read to and talked to score higher in language skills and cognitive development, such as problem-solving skills.
- Creates Listening Skills: Hearing a story aloud involves comprehension, and comprehension is dependent on paying attention.
- Teaches Life Lessons: Stories in books provide an opportunity to talk about real-world problems in age-appropriate ways. Children especially enjoy books that feature characters of their ages doing things they do in everyday life. This helps with your child’s understanding of what happens in various situations. Reading books on specific subjects they may be experiencing, such as moving or going to the doctor, may help children feel not so alone when dealing with something new.
- Broadens Creativity: Reading fictional books opens up a whole new world to your child. There are plenty of fictional books on talking pets, dinosaurs, bugs, and fairytales, and going beyond the real world and implanting a fantasy element gets kids thinking outside the box. Children with vivid imaginations will further their creativity as they get older.
