Interior Savings Unplug and Play Family Literacy Week | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Interior Savings Unplug and Play Family Literacy Week

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KAMLOOPS - The partners of Literacy in Kamloops (LinK) and others have planned an annual week-long celebration that encourages families to play and learn together. Interior Savings Unplug and Play Family Literacy Week takes place Jan. 23 to 30, 2016.

The community of Kamloops is invited to enjoy the many free, fun events and activities that will be hosted by local organizations in support of national Family Literacy Day®. Activities include Family Floorball, Xploresportz, Creative Cooking, Ice Tower Pool Party, Paper Bead Jewellery, Lego Building, Hot Wheels, Family Board Game Night, Science Literacy Fun, Seniors’ Tea, skating, story-time, and more.

The goal is to raise awareness about the importance of family literacy and also the importance of finding a healthy balance between sedentary screen time and active family time.

As presenting sponsor of the Week, Interior Savings’ CEO Kathy Conway says the Credit Union is getting behind this event because of the powerful and important message it carries for our community.

“As a local credit union, Interior Savings’ success is measured in part by how we’ve helped build Kamloops into a resilient and vibrant community,” says Conway. “One way we’ve set out to make a difference, particularly with young families, is by empowering parents to give their kids a great start in life. Unplug & Play Week provides families with information and techniques they can begin using today to make a difference in their children’s lives.”

In The Read Aloud Handbook, author Jim Trelease contends that parents and caregivers are their children’s first and most important teachers. A typical child, he says, spends 900 hours a year in school and 7,800 hours outside school, often with their parents.

“There may be some truth in the saying, “Families that play together, stay together”. We know that children learn best through play. It is how they learn about their world and how to navigate successfully through that world. Families can build literacy skills through everyday activities – like playing a game, sorting the laundry, making a shopping list, cooking a meal together, going for a walk and talking about what they see. Reading together for just 15 minutes a day can improve literacy skills and build stronger bonds,” says Literacy Outreach Coordinator, Fiona Clare.

More than 5000 young students will try to reduce their recreational screen-time by taking the Interior Savings Unplug and Play School Challenge. Youth and adults are encouraged to try the digital detox too, because it’s tough for our children to unplug when we, as adults, are plugged in!

Don’t miss out on these key events happening during Literacy Week:

The week starts off with ABC Family Literacy Day, hosted by the partners of Kamloops Early Language and Literacy Initiative (KELLI) at the Henry Grube Education Centre on Saturday, Jan. 23 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The theme this year is Under the Big Top. Families can anticipate a morning full of free activities, fun and stories. Each child receives a new-to-them book from the Heap the Honda Children’s Book Drive.

On Jan. 28, Merlyn Horton, Founder and Executive Director of SafeonLine, is giving an educational presentation on Parenting in a Digital Age at the Henry Grube Education Centre from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Admission is by donation to Loonies for Literacy. Horton believes we need to be informed participants in our children’s online world so we can keep them safer.

For a full schedule of events please check out www.literacyinkamloops.ca or visit any Interior Savings Branch in Kamloops.

News from © iNFOnews, 2016
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