Deputy Premier and Education Minister Gordon Wyant proclaimed January 27, 2019 as Family Literacy Day in Saskatchewan. Family Literacy Day raises awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in literacy-related activities as a family.
“Literacy skills play a crucial role in a child’s overall development,” Wyant said. “Family member engagement helps support the foundation of literacy development of children.”
The staff at Assiniboia’s library are encouraging reading and literacy in this community, by helping the people in the town to discover the right book they’ve been searching for during visits to the Assiniboia & District Public Library. “We enjoy helping our patrons to find books of interest to them,” assistant librarian Lois Seeley said. “It’s lots of fun for us here to encourage more people to try new authors,” she further added.
The Government of Saskatchewan continues to support the literacy development of children and families by funding eight family literacy hubs across the province and 20 summer literacy camps every year. More than 1,200 children attended the camps last year and 49 per cent of them were returning participants.
The family literacy hubs are a provincial network of eight organizations that work with community organizations locally to identify family literacy needs and develop programming. The government also partners with the Saskatchewan Literacy Network (SLN) to support the literacy sector and deliver family literacy practitioner training and resources throughout the province. The 2018-19 provincial budget includes $1.5 million to support Ministry of Education literacy initiatives.
“Family Literacy Day is a wonderful opportunity for families and communities to come together and celebrate the learning that happens in every family,” SLN Executive Director Phaedra Hitchings said. “Building literacy skills within the family leads to greater involvement and success at school and work and in the community – benefitting all of Saskatchewan.”
