The health unit wants families to enjoy literacy every day as part of Family Literacy Day.
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge Health Unit is celebrating Family Literacy Day by encouraging families to stick to this year’s theme of ‘Take 20.’
According to the HKPR, this is the 20th year of Family Literacy Day, and this year’s theme encourages families to take 20 minutes a day and dedicate it to reading, singing, listening to or playing with children to help them develop literacy skills.
Shelley Shaughnessy, a public health nurse with HKPR, says “practicing literacy together every day has tremendous benefits for both children and parents,” adding “when you ‘take 20,’ not only do you get to spend quality time together as a family, but you also help children develop strong literacy skills that are essential for them to reach their full potential in a changing and dynamic world.”
HKPR suggests that there are many fun ways to practice literacy with children including reading books at bed time, going to the library, playing board games together, and telling knock-knock jokes. Shaughnessy also says organizing grocery hunts, and creating menus at home are other fun activities to promote literacy.
Shaughnessy says families can play what she calls an animal dance. This game has everyone standing in a circle and moving like an animal and saying what animal they are dancing like.
Family Literacy Day is Sunday.