Happy Family Literacy Day!
We invite you to celebrate with us today as we host special storytimes and activities at all Book Bank locations!
You can also download a free copy of “My Family Recipe Book”—a booklet filled with fun activities to help you turn mealtime into family learning time—and see our recommendations for books about food and family!
Family Literacy Day is a special event takes place every year on January 27 to raise awareness about the importance of reading and learning together as a family. This year’s theme is “Make mealtime family learning time.”
“I love this year’s theme, because the kitchen is the best classroom in the house. It’s the perfect place to build lifelong literacy skills. Cooking and eating together naturally blends reading, writing, math, science, and communication into everyday life.” - Barbara Reid, Family Literacy Day Honorary Chair.
ACTIVITIES TO STRENGTHEN LITERACY & LEARNING
Why mealtime? Sharing stories at the dinner table, creating grocery lists, following recipes, and reading food packages, are all meaningful, real-world experiences that build literacy skills. Learn more by expanding the fields below:
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Eating meals together as a family supports children’s literacy by strengthening oral language skills through everyday conversation. During mealtimes, children build vocabulary, practice listening and speaking, and develop narrative skills by sharing about their day. Research shows a correlation between frequent family meals and better grades, stronger communication skills, and higher literacy test scores, highlighting the important role family conversations play in literacy development.
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When children help create grocery lists and take part in grocery shopping, they build important literacy skills through meaningful, real-world experiences. Writing lists supports spelling, sounding out words, and organizing ideas, while shopping provides opportunities to read signs, packaging, and flyers. These activities also help develop vocabulary and comprehension as children talk about and look for categories and items. Because the experience is purposeful and connected to everyday life, it can be highly motivating and strengthen children’s confidence and interest in reading and writing. Most importantly, grocery shopping together creates opportunities for collaboration and meaningful family connections.
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Cooking together as a family can be a powerful and fun way to support children’s literacy development. Following recipes introduces children to instructional text in a meaningful and hands-on way. Children can read or listen to ingredient lists, gather items and follow step-by-step instructions. Cooking also exposes children to rich and varied vocabulary, from ingredient names like cinnamon or saffron to action words such as whisking, dicing, and measuring! Recipes also encourage awareness of environmental print, as children learn to recognize words, labels, and packaging in the kitchen. Importantly, creating and sharing recipes together connects children to family traditions, culture, and oral storytelling, as families pass down memories, customs, and stories through food.
