ABC Life Literacy Canada

Communities nation-wide celebrate importance of literacy and learning during Family Literacy Day®

(Toronto, ON - January 27, 2012) – Today across Canada thousands of families, literacy groups, schools, libraries and community organizations will gather in their communities to celebrate the importance of literacy and learning in honour of Family Literacy Day – Canada’s largest family literacy initiative.

Launched in 1999 by ABC Life Literacy Canada, Family Literacy Day takes place annually on January 27 to encourage families to embrace the learning opportunities inherent in their daily lives. Finding 15 minutes a day to practice literacy as a family can be tough, but the benefits of spending this time together are hugely impactful for both adults and children.

Establishing a culture of learning in the home encourages an exchange of ideas, enriches family relationships, and bolsters confidence and independent thinking.

“Family Literacy Day is a great opportunity for families to actively spend time together learning as a family as it helps both the child and parent,” says Margaret Eaton, ABC Life Literacy Canada president. “We are pleased that so many families are already involved in Family Literacy Day and are embracing learning opportunities in their daily lives.”

"Our government’s top priority is job creation and economic growth. We are committed to ensuring that Canadians have the skills and training they need to find meaningful work that contributes to Canada’s long-term growth, competitiveness and overall prosperity,” said the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. "Literacy and essential skills are an important part of life-long learning and as a government, we are proud to join Canadians in celebrating Family Literacy Day."

As part of Family Literacy Day 2012, families are invited to Take a Learning Journey with the new Journey to Learning Passport, available for free download at www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca. The Journey to Learning Passport encourages families to complete a variety of learning activities to understand how learning can be embraced in everyday tasks. Download and complete your passport before the end of January and register it on www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca for a chance to win a prize pack.

In honour of Family Literacy Day, ABC Life Literacy Canada offers five suggestions on how you can embrace daily learning opportunities:

1. Attend a local Family Literacy Day event in your community. Visit www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca for event listings.
2. When making your grocery list, have your child write out the items you need to buy.
3. When cooking dinner, involve your children in measuring the ingredients. This helps them understand fractions and measurements.
4. In the car, sing along to songs on the radio. Singing encourages learning patterns of words, rhymes and rhythms, and is strongly connected to language skills.
5. When playing a board game, read the instructions aloud to each other or count how many spaces to travel around the board.

For more information, literacy resources or event listings, visit www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca.

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