Family Literacy Week

January 6, 2024

Family Literacy Week takes place across the nation January 21-28, to celebrate adults and children reading and learning together. The theme this year is “Let’s Have a Family Party!” Make food, sing songs, and play games. The possibilities for learning are endless – and it’s fun when you do it together.

We are encouraging everyone to spend at least 15 minutes reading or enjoying a learning activity as a family. That’s all it takes!

Need inspiration? Browse our book recommendations in our collection or on the free Libby App (in the kids catalogue!) and check out one of the fun activities or resources below.

  • Get Crafty. Find one of thousands of easy, at-home crafts you can do as a family! Visit Creativebug. All you need is your library card.
  • Ciao! Learn a new language…together! Visit VIRL’s Mango Languages to do fun, kid-friendly activities, including learning how to speak pirate.
  • Go Wild. Watch the beasts and beauty of the natural world with National Geographic Kids!
  • Animated Reading. A combination of movies and reading, sit down and giggle together with these fun animated books from Tumble Book Library.
  • Explore. Pick up one of our literacy kits for babies, toddlers, preschoolers or kindergartners on everything from wild animals to pirates, yoga and things that go. Each kit is stocked with books, CDs, DVDs and/or toys. We also have multicultural literacy kits!
  • Gather Round, Everyone. Many of our branches offer fun and educational storytimes for children and families. Ask your local library team for more information or visit our events calendar to find out when one is happening near you.
  • Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents. Learn your family history together! Visit your local library to use our free genealogy resource, Ancestry Library Edition
  • Create a 3D print. If you think it, you can make it on our 3D printer. Send your design to our Creativity Commons team in Nanaimo and they’ll print it and send the result to your home branch.  At $0.10 per gram, it’s an affordable and fun activity. Learn more and get tips on how to create a design.
  • Read together. Everyone loves a story told to them. Browse our book recommendations or visit your local branch to stock up on great reads. You can also get the Libby App and listen to kid-friendly audiobooks as a family.

What’s happening at local branches?

Take a look at our chock-a-block events calendar to see for yourself all the wonderful ways VIRL branches are inspiring and promoting literacy across our service area during Family Literacy Week, and every week in between.

Family Literacy Day

Family Literacy Day was founded by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999 and is celebrated annually on January 27 to raise awareness about the importance of literacy and encourages families to engage together in reading and other literacy-related activities.

Check out the activity book and activity sheet from ABC Life Literacy Canada or gather your family at 1:30 pm, January 25 to learn how to use clay to make a picture from honourary chairwoman Barbara Reid. This event is best suited for children in Grades 1 to 6. Register here (the workshop will be recorded for those who are unable to attend the live event).