January 27^th is Family Literacy Day

Parents are their children's first and most important teachers! Family Literacy Day is a special day set aside to celebrate parents' central role in their children's learning. Your community can use Family Literacy Day to raise awareness of the important role that families play in helping their children develop language and literacy skills, as well as a strong personal and cultural identity.

The Nunavut Literacy Council has sent out packages of materials to help communities celebrate Family Literacy Day. You will also find many family literacy resources on our website under online resources.

Your group may want to sponsor a community event in which families can celebrate together. The ABC Canada materials and the materials developed by the NLC can be used as prizes and give-aways. For more information call:

Quluaq Pilakapsi at our office in Rankin Inlet (867) 645-5512
or
Kate Collins at the Nunavut Literacy Council office in Cambridge Bay toll free at 866-608-2678 or 867-983-2216.

What are community groups, schools, libraries, and day cares are doing to celebrate family literacy?

The Tasiuqtigiit Society in Iqaluit has invited preschool parents in for a morning story time with their children on Tuesday. On Monday the children made their own books, drawing pictures to match the simple sentences. They will be making another book this week based on the Centre’s letter of the week. They will be making play dough and taking home the recipe. They have also been singing the alphabet in both languages and playing letter games.

Joamie School in Iqaluit will spend the week with a couple of projects calendars for the older kids and Bingo with the younger ones. Because the literacy week materials didn't arrive earlier, they will be holding more special Family Literacy Day activities next week.

Joamie also has a monthly literacy project that involves kids and the community. It is a themed event that involves literacy of one kind or another (email, reading, writing, music etc) and a special snack which is shared with a variety of people. For example November was "muffins and mail" - children wrote to veterans during the month (last year they wrote to soldiers in Afganistan) and celebrated with invited guests (the muffin part). Other topics are pumpkins and poems, bannock and book buddies, cookies and cards.

The Community Learning Centre in Rankin Inlet will be inviting elders who will teach adult learners some string games, lighting of the qulliq and also names of the different types of snow.

Designed and hosted by in collaboration with The Nunavut Literacy Council