HUMBOLDT 鈥� Teaching children literacy is about more than just reading to them.
Families should also be singing, talking, writing and playing with their children, said Christine Thompson, a community developer with regional KidsFirst.
鈥淟iteracy is almost everything you do with your child,鈥� she said.
It鈥檚 possible to build literacy skills when driving with a toddler, pointing out the scenery along the way. One can read labels to children while shopping at the grocery store.
鈥淓very day, there's so many opportunities to build that and the more opportunities the young children have, they'll just be in a much better position when they start school,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淭hey'll be able to learn quickly, pick up on things quickly.鈥�
A family literacy fun fair, held at the Uniplex by KidsFirst on May 31, was about teaching parents how they can teach their children about literacy while having fun. The fair was full of play-based activities where children and parents could pretend to run a market, build with boxes, play with letters and create nursery rhymes
Thompson said the idea was to engage both children and parents.
鈥� We wanted to have the activities where the parents will enjoy it along with the children, so they work together.鈥�
Christin Remple, who鈥檚 also a community developer, said the plan is to have parents observe how their children are learning while they do the activities.
鈥淭he intention is to take that information with them and incorporate these activities into their day-to-day lives.鈥�
The fair was supported by the provincial education ministry, which aims to have children ready to learn by the time they get to Kindergarten
鈥淲e want to start young and provide children with the opportunities to acquire those skills before they even enter school,鈥� Remple said.
Remple said that will prepare children to be able to read at grade level by Grade 3. Those that can do that are more likely to graduate from high school without taking an extra time.
