Family literacy party draws a crowd to downtown Sarnia library

Hundreds of families sharpened their literacy skills Saturday in downtown Sarnia without cracking open a book.

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They were taking part in free Family Literacy Day Festival events at the Sarnia Library and the Judith and Norman Alix Art Gallery.

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The Lambton County Library said about 550 people visited its downtown branch during the festival held between 9 am and noon, and about 180 took part in afternoon activities at the art gallery.

Family Literacy Day is an annual event that fell on a Saturday this year and the theme was “lets have a family party,” said Vanitia Campbell, a public services coordinator with the county library.

“We decided ‘let’s throw a giant party,’” and invited in families with children of all ages to enjoy “activities that are related to literacy but lots of fun,” she said.

“That way people could engage with literacy rich activities but not realize they’re learning about reading.”

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There were shows by Dan the Music Man in the library theater, as well as face painting, henna art, a photo booth, crafts, games and “all kinds of stuff for families,” Campbell said.

County museums, Lambton Public Health and the Early On program had activities at the library and there were booths with information by several agencies serving families.

“People showed up,” Campbell said. “We’re quite happy with the turnout.”

When families engage in literacy together, “it not only helps children with their literacy skills and set them up for success, but it helps adults keep their literacy skills sharp,” Campbell said.

And it’s important for children’s “literacy journey” that adults in their lives “have sharp literacy skills,” she said.

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“If parents play board games, or grandparents and aunts and uncles play board games, everyone is practicing their math skills and reading skills together,” Campbell said.

“One of the stats that we like to pull out is that kids who are engaged with literacy activities on a regular basis score 10 points higher in school,” she said.

“That confidence in school can carry over to help people with confidence after school,” she said.

The festival included videogaming, which may not always seem like an “obvious literacy-enrich activity,” Campbell said.

“But there’s lots of text on the screen when people are playing video games,” she said. “There’s often very rich narratives along with video games people have to remember and keep track of when they’re moving their way through games.”

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Plus, Campbell said, literacy includes fine and gross motor skills used playing the games.

“Those are important development things that kids have to work on.”

Literacy is more than reading, Campbell said. “It’s talking and listening, as well. Those verbal skills, community skills, are very, very important for post-secondary “education” and jobs,” she said.

“It’s basically the foundation for success for your entire life.”

The festival was also a chance to invite families into the library which has been plugging out in recent years to offer more programs and activities.

“We still have our books and we still love it when people check them out but we’re a lot more than that,” Campbell said.

The Sarnia library is home, for example, to the system’s Makerspace with 3D printers, laser cutters and other equipment patterns can use to learn about technology.

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