Family Literacy Day is an annual event celebrated in Canada on January 27th. The aim is to raise awareness about the importance of literacy and encourage families to read and learn together. In today’s digital age all information is at our finger-tips. We can search and buy popular books, find data on certain subjects, and stroll endlessly down the preverbal rabbit-hole. Many of us can remember bedtime stories, snuggled into bed, or story recited at school or the local library. Sharing a physical book with a parent/guardian enhances the experience tenfold. The child learns to appreciate story, while the adult sees the narrative anew through their eyes.

Gone are the days of reading through encyclopedia’s for our homework. For those of you, who are younger, these were a large series of hardback numbered volumes with massive amounts of information, complete with maps and detailed indexes, on such subjects as history, geography, but also included bibliographies, illustrations, lists of abbreviations and foreign expressions, and gazetteers. Many homes had a set, usually bought in instalments, which could make life difficult if you needed help with a subject not contained in any of the volumes you had at your disposal!

Anyway, I transgress, literacy is the fundamental power many of us have at our disposal, to gain knowledge, experience places and things not otherwise available, and to enjoy our imaginations through stories. Reading is so beneficial and a gift all parents/guardians can give to their kids.

What was your first experience of literacy?