Elk Valley elementary schools kicked off Family Literacy Week with the sixth annual Great Big Buddy Read.
The reading program is a province-wide initiative that teaches children important literacy and communication skills. Launched in the East Kootenay region by Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL), it pairs youth up for reading exercises, allowing older students and mentors to read books to younger children. Students from Isabella Dicken Elementary School, Frank J. Mitchell Elementary School and Rocky Mountain Elementary School took part on Jan. 23, marking the start of Family Literacy Week. Isabella Dicken students were read to by the Ghostriders.
Cathryn Lennox's son has attended a wide range of CBAL programs. She said one of the advantages of Great Big Buddy Read is that youth can transition from learning from older peers, to being the reader themselves and using their acquired knowledge to teach younger students.
Speaking more generally on CBAL's literacy programs, Lennox said her son has benefited greatly from a variety of creative activities.
"The programs have provided me with a way to connect my son to the joy of reading and the opportunities reading and writing can provide. He won a CBAL writing contest and it gave him a sense that creating stories can be fun — not just a school task," she said.
CBAL supports the region with 16 coordinators working in 77 communities to help increase literacy among children and adults.
Family Literacy Week runs from Jan. 23 to Feb.2 and this year's theme is 'Learn to Be Green Together', dedicated to helping youth learn about nature, the environment and sustainability. CBAL has released some ideas of suggested activities for parents to try with their children that suit the theme, including growing grass in plant pots and decorating them. CBAL literacy outreach coordinator Chrisy Hill said activities like these allow children to connect gardening and literacy together by reading instructions and measuring and estimating.
"Family literacy is what you learn naturally in your own home. It's parents reading with their kids. It's families having a meal together and discussing their day at the dinner table. It's being able to understand each other," said Hill.