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18TuesdayJanuary282014ByMARIACHURCHTheNWTLiteracyCoun-cilisonceagainaskingfami-liesintheterritorytoadoptafocusonliteracybutthisyeartherequestbranchedoutfromhittingthebookstowhateveryoneenjoyshavingfun.ChildrenlearnthroughplayKathrynBarryPad-dockcoordinatorwiththeNWTLiteracyCounciltoldTheJournal.Eventaking15minutesadaywithyourchildcanimprovetheirlit-eracyskillsandyoucandoitinafunway.NWTFamilyLiteracyDaywasmarkedMondayincon-junctionwithnationalFam-ilyLiteracyDayaCanada-widecampaignwhosefocusthisyearwas15MinutesofFun.Thecampaignstatesthattherearehundredsofshortentertainingactivi-tiesthatparentscandotoencourageliteracygrowthintheirchildren.Theresearchisreallyclearthatthereisareallinkbetweenfamilyinvolvementathomeandwhatwearesee-inginschoolsexplainedDorieHansonliteracyco-ordinatorfortheSouthSlaveDivisionalEducationCoun-cilSSDEC.ParentsoftenndtheideaofteachingliteracyathomedauntingbutsimplefunactivitieswiththeirchildrencanhavealastingimpactontheirdevelopmentBarryPaddocksaid.Whilebooksandreadingarestillimportanttoachildseducationlearningcanhap-peninamanywaysshesaid.Forexamplesingingwithyourchildortellingjokescanhelpchildrenlearnlanguageskills.Maybeyouaregoingtoputtogetheraquickrecipeormatchsockswhileyouaredoingthelaundryandallthewhileyouaretalkingtoyourchild.MaybeyouaregoingtoplayafuncardgamelikeGoFishorSnap.ItdoesnttakeverymucheffortBarryPaddocksaid.Goingoutonthelandin-volvesliteracyskillstoo.Soifyouaregoingtogooutforawalktalkaboutwhatyouaregoingtoseeandexplainthingsasyougoalongsheadded.TerritoryembracesliteracyfunTomarkFamilyLiteracyDayintheNWTvarioussocietiesandorganizationsacrosstheNorthhavebeenholdingfamilyeventsinli-brariesandhallsfromTuk-toyaktuktoFortSmith.InYellowknifetheNWTLiteracyCouncilpartneredwiththeNorthernArtsandCulturalCentreNACCtohostgamesandactivitiesforyouthintheNACClobbySaturdayaspartofthean-nualChildrensFestivalofSiLLiness.HayRiverhosteditsliter-acyeventearlywithafam-ilypancakebake-offatthecommunitylibraryonJan.18.EightfamiliespartookinthebreakfastbakingbashwhichincludedareadingofthechildrensbookPancakesPancakes.WhetheritsliteracyinthekitchenorliteracyinthebookitsbringingfamiliestogethertodosomethingtheymightnotnormallydosaidTerriMurrellprogramlibrarianattheHayRiverPublicLibrary.Mostschoolsintheterri-toryheldtheirownliteracydayactivitiesaswell.SchoolsintheSSDECallheldeventsforFamilyLiter-acyDayrangingfromelderbookreadingstoliteracyquizzesandmathactivities.HansonsaidliteracyskillsarenotanewfocusfortheSSDECbuttherehasbeenaheightenedawarenessofitsimportanceoverthelastseveralyears.Whenwelookatimprov-ingstudentsreadingandwritingskillswearealsoimprovingskillsallthewayacrosstheboardinallsub-jectcontentareasshesaid.NWTliteracypromotiongrowingAccordingtoBarryPad-dockinterestinpromotingliteracyincommunitieshasbeensteadilypickingupmo-mentumintheNWT.Ithinkpeopleseemtobekindofenergizedtodofam-ilyliteracyeventsshesaid.TheNWTLiteracyCoun-cilhasbeenholdingwork-shopstotraincommunitymembersonliteracypro-grammingforthepast10yearsbutthelatestworkshopinDecembersawahigherthanaverageturnoutwith26participantsfromacrosstheterritory.Weveprettymuchtrainedsomebodyfromeverycom-munityatsomepointBarryPaddocksaid.FamilyLiteracyDayinspiresfamilyfunintheNWTPhotocourtesyofSSDECEducationLiteracyAnthonyBecksitsdowntoreadabookwithhisdaughterBrennaBeckduringPrincessAlexandraSchoolsFamilyLiteracyDayeventinHayRiverlastweek.