Community organizers are delighted with the local response to this year's national Family Literacy Day activities.
The Penhold and District Library joined libraries across the country for the national celebration on Jan. 27.
“It was a great event. We had about 40 people that attended,” said Myra Binnendyk, library manager. “There was a good response from families and from children, and we were really pleased to see both moms and dads participate with their children.”
Using “read” as a theme, the hour-long Family Literacy Day event took place in the evening from 6 to 7 p.m. and featured several activities, including a scavenger hunt, bedtime stories, a sing-a-long and building a snack.
“They went through the library doing the scavenger hunt. We made it picture friendly so that the younger children could be a part of it,” said Binnendyk. “There was a little bit of karaoke going on. Kids would read the words and sing with the music. That was fun.
“(Children) also built a healthy snack and we finished our evening with bedtime stories.”
Family Literacy Day is an annual event that is celebrated at the end of January every year, and is a good way to highlight the importance of literacy, and literacy as a family, noted Binnendyk.
“This was the first year (for the reading challenge). “We went to several businesses and told them it was about promoting the importance of literacy. We all use it every day, both personally as well as for work,” she added. “Reading should be a family activity as well and incorporated into raising our children. It is an important part of giving them a strong foundation.”
Binnendyk said they had great support for the event from the community and was pleased with the results from the reading challenge, pointing to a total score of 23.5 per cent of the population that participated.
“We were pleased that they did read and they did register,” said Binnendyk. “It connects people (and families) to the library and it connects them back to the community.”
Myra Binnendyk
"We made it picture friendly so that the younger children could be a part of it. There was a little bit of karaoke going on. Kids would read the words and sing with the music."
