Best Start 2010 Annual Conference - Markham, Ontario

AFLO is pleased to be presenting at the 2010 Best Start Resource Center Annual Conference in Markham, Ontario on Friday, February 18th, 2010.

Lorri Sauve, from AFLO, will be joined by Lesley Brown, Executive Director of the OLC, to present the topic Teach a Parent, Reach a Child: Integrating a Family Literacy Approach in the Early Years. Lorri and Lesley will conduct an interactive workshop that will:

• Provide an overview of Family Literacy in Ontario and how it differs from Early Literacy programming
• Examine adult literacy statistics linking family literacy to issues that affect health, poverty and educational opportunities
• Demonstrate the links between the parents' literacy and their children's literacy
• Provide ideas for what this means to Early Literacy programs and how to outreach to parents with low literacy and the differences with ESL parents

This will be an interactive workshop that will engage participants to better understand the issues of low literacy, how family literacy incorporates the cultivation of positive parenting skills, health literacy, financial literacy and computer literacy, as well as links to community supports.

Boggle Tournament for Children and Adults

On Sunday January 31, 2010 at Conestoga Mall, Waterloo, Project READ Literacy Network will host a Boggle tournament. Boggle is a word game in which players will record words they form on a piece of paper. It is a timed event played by two or more players at a time. The person with the most words wins. Each match is the best 2 out of 3 games. There is a children's tournament and an adult tournament, both competitive and recreational. There are gift cards from Conestoga Mall as prizes. The cost is either $25 or a minimum of $25 in pledges. To preregister for this event, see our website at http://www.projectread.ca/

Family Literacy Day 2010 in Waterloo Region

On Sunday January 31, 2010, agencies offering intergenerational literacy will host Family Literacy Day 2010. Events include a Boggle tournament (pre-registration required), Erick Traplin providing entertainment, and various interactive family literacy booths. All events are FREE except for the Boggle tournament which is a fundraiser for Project READ Literacy Network. Check out our website for more information at http://www.projectread.ca/

Events occur from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm at Conestoga Mall, Waterloo.

Compendium of Family Lit Projects

Movement for Canadian Literacy (MCL) has created this Compendium to capture a
snapshot of the variety of projects currently taking place across the country. The
information about each project has been supplied by the lead organization.

Have a look at pages 5 - 8 for Family Literacy projects.

Family Literacy Day 2010

Since AFLO's website is under construction, please check here for Family Literacy Day events. We are happy to include FLD events if you send them to us at least 2 weeks prior to the event. Please include date, time, cost (if any) and location including address. Thanks in advance for sharing your events.

Literacy Lava - 2nd Edition

Literacy Lava is a fantastic ezine produced by The Book Chook, an Australian blog. It features tons of tips for families to encourage them to incorporate more reading, writing and math activities into their daily routines.

This issue features ideas on encouraging reluctant readers, ways to add math into your day, and many more easy to implement suggestions.

Follow this link to view, and print, the ezine:

http://thebookchook.blogspot.com/2009/09/new-edition-of-literacy-lava.html

Spend some time with this resource today - you'll be glad you did!

Key Factors to Support Literacy Success in School Aged Populations

The purpose of this literature review, commissioned by the Canadian Education Statistics Council (CESC), is to summarize the research evidence on key factors and practices supporting literacy success for school-aged students.

The review focuses exclusively on reading, or the ability to get meaning from print, because it is fundamental to the literacy development and continued school success of all children (Canadian Council on Learning 2007).

Check out this link for the full report:

http://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/201/key-factors-literacy-school-aged.pdf

ALSO Adult and Family Literacy

ALSO (Alternative Learning Styles and Outlooks) has been providing free adult and family literacy services in downtown Ottawa for 28 years. They are a registered charity and proud to provide guidance and support enabling learners to strengthen literacy, math, and life skills.

For more information check out their website www.also-ottawa.org

Project READ Literacy Network

Project READ Literacy Network is a community collaboration that serves the Regions of Waterloo and Wellington. They offer a 10 week family literacy program called "Get Set Learn" to parents and children living on welfare and are presently piloting a 9 week transition program after school. Their innovative and highly successful programs are funded by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and the Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation in partnership with local community centres, early years centres, and schools.

You can download the complete curriculum package "Get Set Learn: Everything you need to Run a Family Literacy Program" from http://www.nald.ca/

Kingston Literacy

Kingston Literacy, a community based program located in Kingston, Ontario, has a long standing history of delivering family literacy programs to adults and their families in Eastern Ontario. They also house the Centre for Expertise in Family Literacy which provides information and resources.

See their website at www.kingstonliteracy.com for current information and links to other websites.

Upcoming Conferences

Please see the website for Alberta's Centre for Family Literacy to find out information on their National Conference July 15 - 17, 2010. Guest speakers include Thomas G. Sticht, Peter Hannon, Eve Gregory, Snoeks Desmond and Elsa Auerbach.

For more information, see http://www.famlit.ca/

Early Literacy Alliance of Waterloo Region

For some current resources and links, please check out the website of the newly formed Early Literacy Alliance of Waterloo Region.

http://earlyliteracyalliance.blogspot.com


There are a variety of resources and links posted. Keep checking for news of an upcoming conference in the spring of 2010.

AFLO Website

Please continue to check the AFLO website, www.aflo.on.literacy.ca, as it is updated. It is a work in progress!

Membership

Action for Family Literacy Ontario (AFLO) is a provincial working group committed to moving family literacy forward in Ontario.

AFLO's Vision
We see families learning and growing together in positive, literacy-rich environments. We see family literacy valued, encouraged, supported and sustained in homes and communities throughout Ontario.

AFLO's Mission
To Sustain, promote and strengthen family literacy services in Ontario.

What we are looking for:
People who are or have recently been involved in work as an Early Childhood Educator (ECE), a health care worker, or someone who assists new Canadians to adapt to their new life in Canada. Marketing, media, and research skills are assets for these positions.

What's in it for you?
A way to utilize your leadership skills, share your passion and knowledge of working with families and move the literacy movement forward in Ontario.

To express interest:

Send an email to
Kim Oastler, Co -Chair
kim@also-ottawa.org

Introduction

Welcome to Action for Family Literacy Ontario (AFLO) blog. We are pleased that you have joined us and are looking to move family literacy forward in Ontario.

Please add your questions and comments below.

We look forward to hearing from you.

AFLO