Parish Nurse Notes:
January Health Awareness: Literacy
Family Literacy Day is a national awareness initiative: all it takes to improve skills is to
practice for 15 minutes every day by reading, writing, playing a game, following a recipe or even singing a song.
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Facts
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- 74% of high school graduates have strong literacy
skills, whereas 26% can handle only simple reading
and writing tasks
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- 72% of Canadians are not fully confident that their
math and money managements skills will help them
plan for a secure financial future
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Parental Influence
Children have a greater chance if reading is
encouraged at home. Improving parents’ skills
positively affects the language development of
children. Children’s achievements in school improves
with parental involvement in education. There is a
strong correlation between the level of education
attained by the parents and the children’s academic
scores. Quality of family life is related to literacy. The
more time a parent spends reading to a child aloud, the higher the sense of security and self-esteem
in that child. Reading aloud also increases the listening skills, vocabulary, language skills,
imagination and creativity. Three potential reading slump times that can hinder a child’s
reading development are when a child enters kindergarten, Grade 4 and Grade 9.
The ABCs of Family Literacy
Act out a story with your child.
Babies enjoy looking at pictures with bright colours and faces.
Connect what happens in the book to your child’s life.
Decide to make time to share a book with your child every day.
Encourage your child to tell you about their drawings.
Find comfortable places to read.
Go for a walk and talk about the signs along the way.
Help your child build language by singing, rhyming and talking every day
Include everyone in sharing family stories.
Jump in and play with your child.
Keep TV time to no more than one hour a day.
Let your child see you reading and writing.
Make a batch of cookies and count how many there are.
Newborns benefit from reading, too.
Open a book and make up a story using just the pictures.
Play a game together.
Questions your child asks help her learn.
Recognize and reward your child’s early attempts at reading and writing.
Scribbles are the first step in becoming a writer.
Tell your child stories about your day.
Use events that happen every day to teach your child about the world.
Visit your local library and let your child choose a book.
Write a letter or a shopping list together.
‘Xpect your child to be active; count how many times they can hop or jump.
Your child loves to hear you talk, sing and read with him.
Zzz – a good time to read can be just before bed.
Have fun reading, singing a song or playing a game with someone (young or old) today!!
Thought of the day: “Trust in God, so when we feel at our worst, the best in us will come out!”
Have a great day!
Carol – Parish Nurse – 291-2586
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