Family Literacy in Edmonton (FLIE)

A Project funded under the Early Intervention Program of
the Office of Commissioner of Services for Children*

 

The following programs have been implemented in collaboration with the University of Alberta as well as a range of other community partners, including: Health Centres, Success by 6®, Community Service Agencies, HeadStart Programs, Daycare Centres, Schools, and Community Development Projects. More than 1,500 families have been served through these programs.

1. Books for Babies

Junior League of Edmonton has partnered with Prospects to implement this program. Bags full of children's books and information about literacy development are provided to new parents to encourage them to read to their children from an early age.

• Book bags are distributed through the Health for Two network.

• A mentor component provides support to parents in accessing other language and literacy programs such as Rhymes that Bind and B.O.O.K.S.

 

2. Rhymes that Bind: A Parent-Child Mother Goose Program

Parents and babies meet once a week for 10 week sessions. Parents learn rhymes and songs which lead naturally to holding, touching and bouncing children. Parents are encouraged to:

• use language with their children from infancy on;

• touch their children appropriately --firmly but gently;

• really look at their children, making eye contact and observing the child accurately;

• notice what other children are doing.

Each session ends with a story told to the parents - giving them the same sort of pleasure in language and listening that they can give to their children with rhymes and songs.

 

3. The B.O.O.K.S. Program (Books Offer Our Kids Success)

Parents meet once a week for two hour sessions over 8-10 weeks to share children's books. Components of the workshops include:

• a focus on good children's literature as well as extended discussion about ideas, issues and themes in the books; also story-stretcher activities related to the story, such as drama, arts and crafts.;

• opportunities for parents to explore ideas on how to help their children develop early literacy skills.;

• exploration of parents' own literacy abilities, beliefs and attitudes through personal journals and through writing stories for their children.

 

4. Literacy and Parenting Skills (LAPS), Aboriginal LAPS & E.S.L. LAPS

LAPS is a unique parenting program which recognizes that many people, 40% in Canada, have difficulty using printed materials encountered in everyday activities. LAPS focuses on small and large group discussions, role playing and carefully written, simple handouts and reading materials. There are three versions: a LAPS for the mainstream population, one for parents for whom English is a Second Language and one for Aboriginal parents. Each LAPS program addresses common parenting issues like Listening, Discipline and Building Self-Esteem. There are additional sessions in the ESL and Aboriginal programs on Passing on Our Values and Traditions and Dealing with Schools.

 

5. Learning and Reading Partners

This program is for parents of school-aged children. Two hour workshops run for ten week sessions with groups of 8-15 parents. Parents learn strategies to support their children's learning in school. Modules include: Life Management, Understanding the Learner, Thinking Skills, the Reading Process, and the Writing Process.

 

6. Community Literacy Intervention Program (C.L.I.P.)

a) University Liaison

Fourth year University students serving as literacy intervention mediators for literacy delayed students (grades 3-6) in inner city schools. The intervention occurs as a major component of a university course for which students receive credit towards their B. Ed. degree. Students work one-on-one with the same child for 8-10 weeks for over an hour each week. The focus for instruction is based on analysis of an informal reading inventory diagnosis carried out with the child during their initial meeting.

 

b) PROTECTS (Police Reading Outloud To Educate Children Through Stories)

This program involves police officers reading to kindergarten children selected by their teachers as being in need of shared reading events. The officers find time during their regular daytime shifts to read books selected by the youngsters in a location outside of the classroom. The time the officers visit the school is dependent on their availability to be away from their regular duties. Selection of the students is based on their literacy needs and/or the absence of a male figure in their household.

 

c) Literacy and Health/Community Service Providers

In this program, literacy specialists provide workshops for health and other community service providers in order to "sensitize" them to literacy issues. They also look at how they use literacy within their professional practice and how literacy may or may not be used within the lives of many of the clients they serve. While workshop topics vary depending on the audience, the full day workshops generally address family literacy issues as well as ways and means of identifying and supporting less literate clients' literacy needs and children's early literacy development.

 

d) Health Clinic Reading Volunteers

During clinic hours at a Health Centre, University students volunteer to read children's books suitable for ages 0-5 years. The audience is parents and their children who are attending the clinic for immunization and other health related concerns. The volunteers serve as "model" readers for the parents in identifying particular reading strategies appropriate for babies and preschoolers.

 

* Financial support for these programs also received from: Alberta Advanced Education & Career Development, Capital Health Authority, Edmonton Community Adult Learning Association, United Way, Northern Alberta Reading Specialists' Council, Clifford E. Lee Foundation, Junior League of Edmonton, Audrey's Books, Greenwoods Books, and Orlando Books.

 

For more information contact: Prospects Literacy Association, 9913-108 Avenue, Edmonton, T5H 1A5
Phone 780-421-READ (7323), Fax: 780-421-7324, email: prospects@aaal.ab.ca

Family Literacy in Edmonton (FLIE)
Summary of Statistical Data
January 1993 - June 1999  

This is a summary of statistical data gathered from FLIE programs since their small beginnings in 1993. Early Intervention Funding has supported the programs since the beginning of 1996. A more extensive document detailing each of the programs offered, as well as the names of the collaborating agencies and backgrounds of participants, is also available.

 

Year
Name of Program
No. of Programs Offered
No. of Collaborating Agencies
No. of Participants

Adults
No. of Participants

Children
1993-95
BOOKS (Books Offer Our Kids Success)
10
7
71
-

TOTAL for 1993-95
10
7
71
-

1996
BOOKS
5
4
45
-

Rhymes That Bind
9
7
97
105

Learning and Reading Partners
2
2
18
-

Books For Babies
1
1
15
15

Community Literacy Intervention
3
3
51
31

PROTECTS(Police Reading Out Loud to Educate Children Through Stories)
1
1
2
2

TOTAL for 1996
21
18
228
153

381

1997
BOOKS
19
12
144
-

Rhymes That Bind
26
13
375
420

Books For Babies
2
2
20
21

Community Literacy Intervention
6
5
131
103

Learning and Reading Partners
2
2
17
-

PROTECTS
2
1
6
6

TOTAL for 1997
57
35
693
550

1243

1998
BOOKS
12
7
86
-

Rhymes That Bind
25
11
680
903

Learning and Reading Partners
1
1
7
-

Books For Babies
3
5
91
92

Community Literacy Intervention
11
8
193
182

PROTECTS
5
5
9
18

LAPS
4
4
24
-

TOTAL for 1998
61
41
1090
1195

2285

1999
BOOKS
19
17
142
-

Rhymes That Bind
30
11
745
785

Journal Writing
1
1
5
-

Books For Babies
10
14
168
168

Community Literacy Intervention
4
4
65
390

PROTECTS
7
6
14
28

Community Outreach
29
29
737
-

TOTAL for 1999
101
83
1880
1371

3251

GRAND TOTAL:
Jan.1993 - Dec. 1999
256
183
3962
3269

7231
 

   

For more information about the Centre for Family Literacy Project, contact the project coordinator at the address below, or contact Prospects Literacy Association.

Centre for Family Literacy Project
9913-108 Ave, EDMONTON, Alberta, T5H 1A5 CANADA
Phone: 780-424-1660 Fax: 780-424-1676
cflp@aaal.ab.ca

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