Literacy starts with what kids love, consultant tells Rosetown family fair

By Ian MacKay

Literacy begins with interest, not obligation, a Sun West School Division consultant told families during a two-day fair at Walter Aseltine School last week.

“I’m sharing the idea that literacy starts with the things that you love,” said Karen McConnell during her presentation in the school gymnasium. “It doesn’t need to be over-thought. Sometimes we just need to recognize the things that we love and the things that we’re interested in, and that can become literacy.”

The family fair ran over two late afternoons and brought together a range of community partners, including town representatives, Athlete’s Haven, Sleep and Beyond Consulting, the West Central Literacy Committee and Jenya Lysenko.

Sun West staff also hosted displays, including division trustee Michelle Zacharias, dietitian Janine Lefebvre, school community council members and Terry Epp.

McConnell encouraged parents to connect learning to everyday interests, whether that is hockey cards, animals or cooking.

“It’s important to talk with our kids, and to build knowledge that way, of the things that are around us,” she said.

Examples can be simple: reading where hockey players are from, following a recipe, or studying a map of Saskatchewan to find nearby rivers and lakes.

“It doesn’t have to feel like homework. It can just feel like conversation,” she said.

Handouts provided at the fair focused on practical ways families can build literacy at home without adding extra work, including reminders to pause, talk about the day and notice the world around them. One key message: praise progress and stay positive.

“If we love it, it’s literacy, because we can learn about it and we can explain it to somebody else,” McConnell said. “It doesn’t matter what it is.”

McConnell, who lives in Elbow and works from Loreburn, travels throughout the Sun West division. She noted winter conditions made travel difficult on the day of the event.

Coun. Jan Coffey-Olson said many children were drawn to photos of local activities available in the community.

Lysenko said she visits communities in her region about twice a month, particularly to support newcomers. Three Ukrainian families are currently living in Rosetown, she said, with most newcomers in the area based in Outlook.