Family Literacy Day across the province…

Family Literacy Day and Week were also celebrated by dozens of events, ranging from workshops and presentations in the Lower Mainland to familyfocused activities, festivities and celebrations in communities across B.C. The Vancouver Public Library was the focus for:

• Workshop: LEAP BC (Literacy Education Activity and Play)
  An innovative program recently launched by the Ministry of Education, LEAP is designed to promote literacy in children up to age 5 by integrating language skills with play, and to provide parents, caregivers and educators with tools and resources to encourage physical activity and healthy eating.

• Presentation: Raising the Critical Thinking Child in the Cyber Age
  With Shari Graydon, Canadian youth author and media activist, on the topic of developing the necessary critical thinking skills kids need to function in an electronic age.

• Forum: Literacy – Everyone’s Responsibility: Connecting Policy Research to Community Practice
  A research forum exploring how communities support literacy and how policy can support learning communities. Facilitated by Cynthia Whitaker, Executive Director, Literacy BC, and panelists Charles Ungerleider, Dr. Ron Faris, Peter Hicks, and Anne Docherty.

• Write On! Event: Family Literacy Day® at the VPL:
  An afternoon of children’s authors and family activities

Across BC, families, practitioners, coordinators and communities hosted events and celebrations, with Regional Coordinators distributing Family Literacy Day® public awareness stickers, posters, bookmarks and other materials.

On the North Island, events were held in Courtenay (Family Literacy Open House at the Adult Learning Centre); Campbell River, Gold River (Family Literacy Event February 11th during Spirit of BC Week ); Port Hardy / Port McNeill; Powell River and Bella Coola. The City of Port Alberni (Parks & Recreation), the Alberni Valley Community School and Pacific Care Child Care Resource and Referral cosponsored a family event at the community centre called ABC Stone Soup. In the Selkirk /Kootenay region the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL) hosted celebrations in Castlegar, Kaslo, Nelson, Salmo, Creston, Kimberley, Nakusp/New Denver, Windermere Valley, and Grand Forks. In the Fraser Valley, events included the annual “Riot of Reading” in Mission, a Family Literacy Day celebration in Abbotsford, and a “Flipping for Family Literacy” pancake breakfast fundraiser at the University CoIlege of the Fraser Valley, Chilliwack.