The Citizen has a long history of encouraging literacy with programs such as the CanSpell spelling bee (coming up March 3) and Raise a Reader, which benefits dozens of initiatives throughout the city.
Whenever those in print media boost literacy, we laughingly make tongue-in-cheek comments about how self-serving it is.
But the truth is we have a love of the written word, and know well that when children are raised with books, worlds open up to them.
We also know that reading with children creates emotional bonds, as well as stimulating imagination, which leads to a more secure and happy child.
Tomorrow is Family Literacy Day across Canada, so we take this opportunity to once again emphasize what a few hours a week with a book can mean.
Reading instills compassion, independent thinking, creativity, learning skills, adaptive skills, confidence, and on, and on.
All it takes is a book, a little time and some enthusiasm to set a child on a lifelong course.
And although that path will certainly benefit the young reader, it may also pay off for others, as happened when a local man courageously decided to finally learn his ABCs after his grandchild began reading to him during visits.
It took a child's enthusiasm to infect and inspire the man, and improve his life in unimaginable ways.
Innumerable online sites offer free advice and tools to help parents foster a love of reading in their kids.
And for those hoping for a little guidance, as part of Family Literacy Day, families are invited to take a learning journey with the new journey to learning passport, available for free download at www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca.
The journey to learning passport encourages families to complete a variety of activities to understand how learning can be embraced in everyday tasks.
Kids can register completed passports on the website before the end of January for a chance to win prizes.
And mark your calendar for the exciting CanSpell spelling bee happening at Vanier Hall on Saturday, March 3. Children from all over the region compete for a chance to attend the national spelling bee championship in Toronto, and perhaps the highly coveted Scripps spelling bee in Washington D.C.
Just as it was for one grandfather, the audience gets infected with competitors' excitement. We hope to see a packed house celebrating these kids' achievements, both on stage and for the rest of their lives.
-- Prince George Citizen
