This Saturday, the Ladysmith Library is inviting children to bring their parents in and celebrate Family Literacy Day.
The library is hosting Family Literacy Day activities Saturday afternoon from 1-3 p.m. There will be stories, crafts, songs and face painting, and library manager Stephen Warren says the afternoon’s activities will be geared toward children.
The theme of Family Literacy Day this year is 15 Minutes of Fun.
“It’s about creating fun learning experiences for families,” said Warren.
Warren says this is the third year the Ladysmith Library has hosted Family Literacy Day activities, and they generally bring in about 30 children and their parents.
“It’s a really great day to get together,” he said. “Families can get together and enjoy some songs and stories. A lot of people will sign up for a library card that day who haven’t visited the library before.”
Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999 and held annually in January to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.
Branches of the Vancouver Island Regional Library celebrate Family Literacy Day by holding special events each year, as do many literacy providers, schools and community organizations across the country. These activities range from fundraisers, book drives and children’s reading circles to literacy-themed contests and family games nights.
In 2013, Family Literacy Day is celebrating its 15th year, and families are being encouraged to take 15 Minutes of Fun to learn together. The message is that learning can happen anywhere, any time.
“Taking time every day to read or do a learning activity with children is crucial to a child’s development,” states the Family Literacy Day website. “Even just 15 minutes a day can improve a child’s literacy skills dramatically and can help a parent improve their skills as well.”
For more information about the activities at the Ladysmith Library, call 250-245-2322.