Literacy isn’t just knowing how to read and write – it also means maintaining an ability to learn throughout your life, to achieve goals, develop knowledge, and participate actively in society. Literacy should start when children are very young, and ideally, never end.
“Parents are kids’ greatest teachers,” Erin O’Dell of Orcas Family Connections said. “We want to help families realize there are ways to make kids life-long learners, like reading to them at an early age, engaging in conversation, and asking questions about their day.”
This November, Orcas Family Connections and the Orcas Island Public Library are coordinating a community-wide celebration in honor of National Family Literacy Month. From school programs to a pajama story time with dads to a family carnival, the month is filled with activities centered around education.
“Literacy levels vary with the families I work with,” O’Dell said.
She doesn’t want to generalize, but has noticed that parents who “did not have many educational opportunities at home early in life do not realize that simple meaningful daily interactions with their children will pay off with big results in the long run.”
“We hope to raise awareness and get families to read with their kids as often as possible,” she said.
O’Dell had the idea for a literacy celebration last year after searching the Internet for parent education event ideas.
“I discovered that November is National Family Literacy Month, so I decided to organize activities on Orcas,” she said.
O’Dell enlisted the help of children’s librarian Nita Couchman, and the two have been working on the project since June.
“Almost every organization we asked to participate said yes,” O’Dell said. “And we’re doing this on a very low budget.”
The celebration is being funded by Orcas Family Connections, The Orcas Island Public Library, The Readiness to Learn Program, and The Orcas Island Community Foundation.
The kick-off event is a Book Lovers Fair on Nov. 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall.
Community members can donate their favorite book(s) that they would like others to read. In exchange, they get one coupon per donation, which they can redeem at the fair by selecting a new donated book. Donations can be made at the Orcas Library, island preschools and childcare centers, the Chamber of Commerce, the Orcas Senior Center, Island Market on Oct. 31, and at the door of the fair.
Bev Leyman is hosting series of classes titled “Raising Lifelong Learners for parents of children ages 0-5” at the Community Church Family Center. The first class was on Oct. 27; the remaining sessions are on Nov. 3 and 10. From 5:30 to 6:30 Leyman will offer it in English, and from 6:40 to 7:40 it will be presented in Spanish. Childcare and snacks will be provided at the free classes.
David May from Orcas Christian School will lead a free class for beginner Microsoft word users at the junior high building from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 4 and 5.
Orcas Family Connections is hosting the last “Family Dance” of the season on Nov. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Odd Fellows. Dancers are asked to come as their favorite book character. The suggested donation is $4, $6 for couples, and $10 for three or more. The event is a fundraiser for the preschools and OFC, but everyone is welcome regardless of ability to pay.
Also on Nov. 7 is an “Ivy and Bean” event for girls ages six to nine at 2 p.m. at Darvill’s. The award-winning “Ivy and Bean” series are books about little girls who are quite opposite but discover they can have more fun together than they ever could separately. The book store will have crafts and games and a raffle for a t-shirt and book.
The “Pajama Story Time with Dads” will be at the library on Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. Around six dads will be reading to the group; everyone is invited.
Darvill’s Bookstore is hosting an “All Day Graphic Novel Event” starting at 10 a.m. on Nov. 14. The day will start with books for elementary kids and move up through middle and high school students, ending at 3 p.m.
The Family Literacy Carnival will be held at The Funhouse on Nov. 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. There will be book walks, educational prizes, puppet shows, book-making, hat-making, “Fishing for Letters,” and decorating gingerbread people.
Among the events that are not open to the public are English classes offered by DVSAS for Spanish-speaking women, public school literacy events, multi-generational story time at the senior center with pre-school students, a family reading lunch at Kaleidoscope, and a parent/child read aloud at Montessori.
O’Dell and Couchman have been thrilled with the community response thus far.
“Everyone has been excited about it,” O’Dell said.
And the two hope that it makes a difference for island families.
“It is never too soon or too late to read to your kids,” Couchman said. “Even if your child is not verbal, read a picture book to them. It helps prepare your child for learning later on.”
