The Oxford County Library is hosting a whole bunch of virtual events later this week to mark Family Literacy Day.
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The Oxford County Library is hosting a whole bunch of virtual events later this week to mark Family Literacy Day.
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“Family literacy activities are so important because they strengthen the relationship between family members which, in turn, encourage life-long learning,” said Holly Brown, a literacy and innovation specialist for the Oxford County Library.
Brown, one of the co-ordinators for this year’s Family Literacy Day on Jan. 27, emphasized the importance of families learning together.
“Without that adult support and strong foundation at home through parents and caregivers getting involved in literacy learning of their kids, and also community support, a child is less likely to be successful in their learning to read, in their engagement in school and in learning to love books, getting outside and enjoying the outdoors.”
This year, the theme is “Learning in the Great Outdoors,” so the programming focuses on improving literacy by encouraging learning as a family through outdoor-themed activities such as creating indoor snowmen, discussions on nature-themed books and winter crafts.
“We’re hoping that this event gives people some ideas of how to get out in that wonderful snow we’ve just gotten,” Brown said.
COVID-19 and its attendant public-health restrictions are no issue this year since all of the events are virtual and free.
“For those families who aren’t coming out to the library right now because we can’t have in-person programming, it gives them some of those ideas that they can do on their own at home,” Brown said.
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Another great aspect of having this event online, she added, is that families don’t need to worry about missing the sessions.
“If they can’t watch on that day, those videos are always on YouTube for them to watch another time,” she said.
Library staff will be posting activities on the Oxford County Library Facebook page, as well as its YouTube channel, as Family Literacy Day unfolds.
Family Literacy Day sessions
- 10 am Songs & Stories with Oxford County Library: An outdoor themed story time aimed at children ages 0-6 years old.
- 11 a.m. Outdoor Art: Teaching various arts and crafts, including seed art and ice wreaths, using outdoor materials.
- 1 p.m. Oxford Outdoors: A video sharing various resources and activity ideas to help get outside, learn and have fun as a family.
- 3 p.m. Snow Dough: A video showing how to make snow dough to bring the outdoors inside.
- 6 p.m. Family Literacy Day Trivia: A virtual trivia game made for all ages that’s available until midnight.
- 7 a.m. Hoopla Hangout: A live discussion about Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder: A Memoir by Julia Zarankin.