Melissa Hermiston
Marketing and social awareness coordinator for CCPL
Summer may seem like a distant memory in 100 Mile House and Williams Lake, but the family literacy team at Cariboo-Chilcotin Partners for Literacy (CCPL) is reflecting on the success of a brand new program that took place over the summer months in 2023.
The summer park program took place in July and August in 100 Mile House’s Centennial Park and aimed to fill an important gap for families of young children, according to family literacy coordinator Elke Baechmann.
“When school is closed for the summer, every other agency slows down their programming,” Baechmann explained. “So, it was important for us to have families still connected and an activity to take part in with younger kids.”
The parent participation program ran once a week for two hours in the morning and included art activities, circle time with stories and songs, and other literacy-focused activities like puppet theatre, book-making and gross-motor play. Sensory activities that some parents might not want to bring into their homes due to the mess factor are also offered, like water and sand play.
The program was hugely successful in 100 Mile House, with more than 50 families attending each month in July and August. The importance of early years programs such as this, Baechmann said, is two-fold.
“For the children, learning social skills and having different activities provided that they might not have a chance to do at home is beneficial,” she said. “But I think it’s even more important for parents to stay connected. It’s really hard in the summer, to suddenly not have these outings and activities to stay in touch with other parents and families.”
Baechmann and her program partner, Jennifer Jones, are hoping to run the program again this coming summer and are currently awaiting approval of some funding grants.
The duo is very much open to collaborating with other service providers in the community who might want to join in the fun and make connections with young families in the community.
To find out more about the summer park program or any of CCPL’s family literacy programs, email info@caribooliteracy.com or call 250-644-5869.
Family Literacy Week takes place across Canada January 21-28 as a way to celebrate adults and children reading and learning together. Every year Black Press Media community newspapers join with local groups to promote literacy.
