National Adult Literacy Database

FREDERICTON, NB   ̶  Once again, the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) has joined other literacy organizations across Canada to observe Family Literacy Day (FLD) on January 27.

Set each year by Family Literacy Day founder ABC Life Literacy Canada, the theme for FLD 2013 is “15 Minutes of Fun.”

Bill Stirling, CEO of NALD, says reading to kids is a long-term investment that lasts a lifetime. “Research has shown it’s the best starting point we can offer our children,” he said. “We are aware of this and it’s the main reason we continue to seek and add family literacy resources to our library.”

NALD had the opportunity to speak to a representative of the Toronto Public Library (TPL) about Family Literacy Day. The word is:  library staff members are excited about the lively theme and have expanded their celebration beyond the day. Scheduled FLD events (more than 60) have continued all month long and in fact family literacy is so important to them that it’s stressed all the time, not just in January.  

“Children are charmed by technology but it is easy and simple to get them excited about books too,” said Lisa Heggum, TPL’s children and youth advocate.  “It’s never too early to start reading to your child and it’s important to realize also that it’s never too late to get kids reading and being part of family literacy.”

The Library hosts read-a-thons, family story times, puppet shows and author visits, all with the purpose of encouraging  families to read, write and play games, Lisa said.

“The theme “15 Minutes of Fun” is a great segue into keeping learning fun and a reminder that learning is part of daily life and happening already.”

Toronto Public Library strives to include parents of all literacy levels in its family literacy programs.  “We encourage them to participate in activities and, through our adult literacy program, teach them how to read to their children,” said Lisa.

In addition to the scheduled FLD events, TPL uses social media to suggest fun ways for family members to engage in family literacy:

• Try a new recipe.
• Sing songs.
• Learn a new dance number.
• Hum a song and ask a family member to name its title.
• Guess what number was just (with a hand movement, no ink of course) written on your back.

Parents are usually on hand for library story times and they are provided with tips and advice to encourage them to read to their children, Lisa says. Storybook Parents is an initiative that uses recordings of parents reading storybooks to their children. Partners include Forces Canada and TPL’s adult literacy learners.

“Family Literacy Day reminds people how important it is to do reading-related things together,” said Lisa. “Through reading, you become engaged and curious in life. Parents are role models for their children so if you, as an adult, carve out time for yourself to read, your child sees this and follows your example.”

Toronto Public Library has pages on its website devoted to Family Literacy Day events and recommended reading for both children and adults.

It is also preparing to launch in late February “Let’s Get Ready for Reading,” a print resource for early childhood literacy which concentrates on the skills and practices that help children become readers. It’s a unique resource, Lisa said, that expands the Every Child Ready to Read program in the United States.

NALD currently has more than 580 resources related to family literacy in its library: 433 in English and 155 in French.  To view the titles, go to http://library.nald.ca/browse/subject?name=Family+Literacy and http://bibliotheque.bdaa.ca/parcourir/sujet?nom=Alphab%C3%A9tisation+familiale.

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NALD contact:

Christy English

Editor/Stakeholder Liaison
Tel: 506-462-5034 or toll-free: 1-800-720-6253, Ext. 120
Email: christy.english@nald.ca