Family Learning

family learning web

Through our programs, parents of children 0-5, learn activities that will build pre-literacy skills in their children. This learning should prepare the children as they move toward their school years. The activities are fun for everyone and encourage interaction and bonding between parents and their children. Programs are free and offer snacks.

During each of the first three programs, a healthy snack is provided for participants. Usually LAPS is scheduled for morning and lunch is provided at the end of each session.
The audience for these programs is ‘at risk’ families and we work to support participation by reducing barriers. There is no registration fee for Family Learning programs. Snacks or meals are provided. We can provide transportation to sessions and at the programs for ‘parents only’ we can cover the cost of child care.

Books for Babies:

This program encourages parents to discover the joy of reading with their babies beginning at birth.
The program includes four, one hour sessions for parents where book-sharing ideas and interaction are modeled. Parents are given guidance on choosing appropriate books for their baby. Parents may also be introduced to their local library and other available resources.

At each of the weekly sessions parents receive a quality children’s board book to read at home.

Rhyme Time:

Programs involve circle time with parents and infants/toddlers during which rhymes, stories, and songs are shared and modeled.
This program promotes oral language development in babies and toddlers and provides a positive, supportive environment for parents through group-based delivery.
The program aims to strengthen the parent-child bond, provide a welcoming and supportive group for parents, enhance literacy skills, and help link them to other resources in the community.
Sessions are generally delivered once a week for ten weeks, with at least two program facilitators present at each session.

At the end of the session, participants receive a book or CD to share at home with their family.

B.O.O.K.S. (Books Offer Our Kids Success)

For six weeks, parents meet to read and share children’s books. Facilitators will model book-sharing and strategies for supporting children’s literacy development.
Ideas and themes in children’s books are discussed and extended by craft and drama activities. Parents borrow the books to share at home with their preschool children.
Parents may engage in informal writing. Journals are supplied and at the end of the program parents will be able to choose a book to take home.

LAPS (Literacy and Parenting Skills)

The program is designed to build on the parenting skills of participants, expand on their ability to develop their children’s language and literacy skills, and encourage their own literacy development. It runs for eight weeks, 2 ½ hours /week.
Basic parenting topics (e.g., positive discipline, building self-esteem, listening skills) are presented through flexible plain language materials.
Parents learn to model good literacy practices with their children.
Journals and supplies are provided and parents will take a book home at the end of the program.

Literacy is a Family Affair

A parent is a child's first teacher, and research shows the strong influence parents and other primary caregivers have on the literacy development of their children.
Parents are literacy role models for their children.
Children who are read to at home, who have reading and writing materials , and who are encouraged to read and write, have a better chance of learning successfully at school than children who do not have these experiences in their early years.

Contact us
(780) 524-4323
Box 780, Valleyview, T0H 3N0

Operating under the Town of Valleyview Library Board.
Funded by Alberta Advanced Education.

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