MAKING PHYSICAL LITERACY A PART OF FAMILY LITERACY

Huron County, ON – Family Literacy Day is coming on January 27, 2014. Huron County Children’s Services has been participating in Family Literacy Day for the last eight years in conjunction with the child care centres and Early Years programs in the County.

Family Literacy Day was created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999 to encourage Canadian families to read, play and learn together.

This year, Huron County Children’s Services is encouraging families to play and learn together by celebrating this event from January to March, 2014 at Early Years and childcare centres throughout the County. We are highlighting the benefits of physical literacy in 2014 and how to build that brain and body connection for your child.

What is physical literacy? It is really quite simple. It’s about helping your child develop their mobility and motor skills in play and activities, so they have the skills and confidence they need to be lifelong participants in physical activities, and ultimately all of the health benefits this brings.

When your baby is born, one of the first things a parent does is talk and interact with their baby. This simple interaction begins the process of building neural connections and pathways in their child’s brain, laying the foundation for early language and literacy skills. In the same way, parents can help their child develop physical literacy and movement skills by encouraging their child to be active, whether it be in activities such as rolling and sitting in infancy to running, jumping and hopping for preschoolers and beyond.

The Imagination Playground, a portable foam block building playground filled with blue blocks in a variety of sizes and shapes, has been purchased by Huron County Children’s Services and will be available for use during Early Years programming. It develops a child’s creativity and skills as they use their physical, social emotional and problem solving abilities to create and build their structures.

The Imagination Playground and information about physical literacy will be available at select Early Years program locations. For further information please contact Huron County Children’s Services at 519.482.8505 or 1.888.371.5718. Visit our website at www.huroncounty.ca/childcare

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