“Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic… The Three R’s of a good education,” my mother used to say. Well, even though her spelling was a little off, she was right. Nowadays we call it literacy, and the “Three R’s” are arguably the most important tools you can give your children to start them on their journey toward success in their lives.
January 27th is Family Literacy Day in Canada. It was started in 1999 by a charitable organization known as ABC Life Literacy Canada, and serves as a reminder for all of us to practice our reading, writing and math skills. It doesn’t have to be a boring chore, though. There are lots of fun family things we can do every day that can actually help to improve our skills, and the kids won’t even know that all this fun is teaching them important stuff they will use in the future.
One obvious activity for January 27th is a trip to the library. Some local libraries near you will have something going on to celebrate Family Literacy Day. If they don’t have a special event planned, it’s still fun to go and do some reading and find a few new books to take home.
The theme for this year’s Literacy Day is “Play for Literacy.” One idea is an afternoon or evening of board games, which everyone loves. Learning just happens while you play, whether you like it or not! You can do this as a family, or invite friends and relatives to join in. “The more, the merrier,” I always say. Have a look at this link for a whole bunch of information and ideas for your game day.
http://abclifeliteracy.ca/en/fld/play-literacy
This page has some fantastic resources, including an activity book and all kinds of interesting facts and suggestions.
http://abclifeliteracy.ca/en/fld/tips-activities-and-resources
A simple idea to build important skills is to do some baking or cooking together with the kids. Learning how to follow a recipe includes math and reading and comprehension, but it’s also great fun and you get to eat the results – should make everyone happy, don’t you think? A big plus is that when they grow up and move out on their own, your children will know how to feed themselves and not have to survive on packaged or take-out junk food. Cooking skills have so many long-term benefits, I could write a whole book about why you need to make sure your kids know their way around a kitchen.
So dust off the old Scrabble or Yahtzee game or any other board games you have laying around. Haul out your favourite cookbook. Do a crossword puzzle together. C’mon, it’ll be fun! If you don’t have such things in your house, there are online versions of many old and new board games and a zillion recipes at your fingertips. All I can say is that every day should be Literacy Day and the rewards will be lifelong for everyone who participates.
