Each year, Powell River celebrates Family Literacy Day with engaging and interactive activities for families and this year is no exception.
Powell River Literacy Council and First Credit Union are working together to broaden the concept of literacy, using STEAM learning—Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math—at this year’s Family Literacy Day, Friday, January 23. Popular activities from past events will be included, too, such as storytime with City of Powell River Mayor Dave Formosa, along with songs, drumming, and stories with Dana Gustafson and Sosan Blaney of Tla’amin Community Health and the Sliammon Child Development Resource Centre.
“Literacy means understanding,” said Jenny Allen Taves, assistant literacy outreach coordinator. “We are using STEAM to expand on what the concept of literacy has come to represent. It’s much more than just reading.”
The STEAM Literacy concept will reach throughout the event, with games and activities such as a paper airplane and helicopter-making contest to challenge children’s engineering skills, and a giant dice game that uses simple addition and counting. Science will be represented in multiple ways, including social sciences at a children’s voting station, a sky map-making craft, and more. There will also be healthy snacks with recipes to take home, along with exploratory learning activities on the popular ORCA (On the Road with Children’s Activities) Bus for the youngest participants to enjoy.
The literacy team is excited to be working with First Credit Union on this event. Financial literacy is a very important skill for everyone to have, and that begins with a solid base of mathematical literacy established in childhood, said Taves. If children are shown how much fun and applicable math and science can be, it sets them up for more successes down the road. And the great part is, there is science and math in everything, “if you know where to look,” she added. The goal of this event is to celebrate these forms of literacy and encourage further learning once the families are home.
This year’s Family Literacy Day is focusing on showing children and parents how engaging STEAM learning can be, with examples that range from learning about the technology behind what happens to the things when they are recycled, to the chemistry involved in cooking even simple foods. There will also be an area set up for children to practice drawing the patterns that are commonly found in nature, which will hopefully inspire them to observe their environments in the future, and to look for these commonalities in other areas of their lives.
Of course, literacy also relates to reading and writing. “Children are encouraged to bring a book for the book swap, a place where they can take a book home to read, and leave a book for another child to enjoy,” said Taves. They’ll also be encouraged to write a book review to go along with it.
“Kids understand much more than they are often given credit for, and this event will be a place to show off their brains, and feel proud of how much they know, and how much they understand,” she said.
Family Literacy Day event is held from 4 to 6 pm on Friday, January 23, at Powell River Recreation Complex. It is a free event open to all families.
For more information, or to find out about ongoing literacy initiatives in Powell River, readers can visit its website, its Facebook page, or contact Ilona Beiks, literacy outreach coordinator at [email protected] or 1.778.873.3094.
Tips for family learning
After a long day at school, the last thing most children want to do is learn at home. But the benefits of learning as a family outside the classroom are huge. Not only are children exposed to a culture of lifelong learning, but the bond between parent and child can grow with each teachable moment.
“Families play a key role in supporting literacy and there are many ways parents can help their children learn,” said Ilona Beiks, Powell River’s literacy outreach coordinator. Practicing literacy together every day has tremendous benefits for both children and parents, she added.
Here are some great ways to get started:
• Road Trips: Heading out on a road trip? Count how many red cars are seen along the way or find the whole alphabet using licence plates and billboards.
• Sing a song: Singing encourages learning patterns of words, rhymes and rhythms, and is strongly connected to language skills.
• Bake some cookies: Most recipes take less than 15 minutes to prepare and measuring ingredients helps children understand math and numbers.
• Go for a walk: As a family, head out on foot and read street signs. Think of a city or country that begins with the same first letter as the sign.
• Build a drum: Surf the Internet about the history and uses of drums then build one.
• Make an origami boat: Will it float?
• Marshmallow and Spaghetti Challenge: Take a look online for details.
