November is Family Literacy Month, and Habersham’s Volunteers for Literacy are encouraging families to partake in activities to encourage reading at home.
“One of my fondest childhood memories is listening to my mother read to me as we sat on our rose-colored Hide-A-Bed sofa in the tiny living room of our post-World War II tract home,” says Phylecia Wilson, Executive Director of the Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham County. “My father also was an avid reader and between the two of them, I developed a lifelong love for reading.”
Wilson says that reading to children and babies is an important part of their development, with 80 percent of brain growth occurring during the first three years of a child’s life. “If parents read and talk to their babies, they will learn more words by age two than children whose parents do not spend quality time with them,” she says.
According to Wilson, statistics show that children who have not developed basic literacy practices when they enter school are 3-4 times more likely to drop out.
“That’s why the importance of families reading and learning together cannot be over-emphasized,” Wilson says. “It’s also why in 1998 the National Center of Families Learning (NCFL) worked with Congress to designate November 1 as National Family Literacy Day.”
Because of the important role families play in educating their children, the organization has proclaimed November as “National Family Literacy Month.” The Habersham County Volunteers for Literacy encourage families to spend a little more time this month embracing reading, vocabulary and using creativity and imagination to learn more about the world of language.
The organization recommends setting aside time each day for reading, whether that’s reading to young children or finding quiet time for kids (and grownups) to read. They also recommend keeping books visible around the house, making regular visits to your local library, reading a book version of a child’s favorite movie and organizing “book club” opportunities with other children.
If going to the library isn’t an option, the volunteers for literacy have several “Little Free Libraries” around Habersham County that readers young and old are encouraged to check out. There are 15 in the county, and they are located at Alto City Park, Baldwin City Park, Baldwin Elementary School, Clarkesville’s Pitts Park, Clarkesville Square Downtown, Cornelia City Park, Cornelia Elementary School, Demorest City Park, Downtown Demorest, Fairview Elementary School, Habersham County Health Department, Level Grove Elementary School, Mt. Airy City Hall, Tallulah Falls City Hall and the Orchard Golf & County Club.
If you need some ideas for fun ways to encourage literacy at home, the NCFL website has ideas on their 30 Days of Families Learning Together Calendar in English and Spanish.
