Learning and literacy - Connecting Albert County

Why does literacy matter?

25/1/2018

By Janet Wallace, in the editorial of the upcoming special issue of Connecting Albert County on early childhood development and literacy.

Reading is fun and fundamental to being able to participate fully in our society.

What does “literacy” mean?
Traditionally, literacy meant reading, writing and arithmetic. However “literacy is now understood as a means of identification, understanding, interpretation, creation, and communication in an increasingly digital, text-mediated, information-rich and fast-changing world,” according to UNESCO. In simpler terms, literacy is not just knowing how to read, but where to go for information and how to interpret what you read.

Why is literacy important?

Early childhood development in Albert County

23/1/2018

Image by Erica Muise

Connecting Albert County, the Hillsborough Public Library and Tele-Drive Albert County are working together to support early childhood development programs.

Connecting Albert County will soon share news in a special publication. Meanwhile you can find some articles on our new Learning & Literacy page.

From Jan. 24 -March 31, 2018, you can get free rides to early literacy programs in rural Albert County from Tele-Drive Albert County! Thanks to support from the Education and Early Childhood Development - Government of New Brunswick - NB Literacy Strategy). Just call 875-1190. Tele-Drive Albert County is supported, in part, by the Bennett and Albert County Health Care (BACH) Foundation and private donations.

Babies, toddlers and preschoolers in the library

23/1/2018

Public libraries are strong advocates of increasing literacy for all ages. Besides the lending of books and other materials, they strive to help develop literacy skills, especially for young children and their families, through the programs that they offer. Throughout the year there are many program options available at your local library. Here in Albert County, the Hillsborough Public Library proudly serves our community and patrons from outside of Hillsborough through to Alma and we will be offering many literacy programs in 2018.

Getting our kids ready to read

23/1/2018

By Jennifer Shelby
The first book children receive from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is Watty Piper’s The Little Engine That Could. With my first child, I thought, “I think I can, I think I can. That’s a classic.” With my second child, I realized this book was for the parents just as much as the children. Early literacy isn’t easy.

Literacy express (train school)

23/1/2018

Lois Snider (left) and Nancy Land (right) with a happy young participant. Image by Jennifer Shelby

By Nancy Land

Some of the children who come call this ‘train school’, but nobody here knows how to operate a locomotive – even if there are a few trains around. Also, it’s not a ‘school’ in the proper sense of the word, but there is a lot of learning going on.

The “Literacy Express” program for preschoolers is held Tuesday and Wednesday mornings in the second floor rooms of the train station building adjacent to the Hillsborough Public Library. The program is free for children ages 3 and 4 years old and is sponsored by the Hillsborough Public Library Board with the support of the Bennett and Albert County Health Care (BACH) Foundation.

East Coast Kids Child Care & Learning Centre in rural Albert County

23/1/2018

East Coast Kids is a licensed child care and learning centre for children ages 2- 12-years-old. They offer full-time and part-time day care, preschool, before and after school, and summer camps. They have two locations -- Riverside Consolidated School and Hillsborough Elementary School.

What the Kids Are Saying About Literacy Express

23/1/2018

Photos and story by Jennifer Shelby (originally posted Jan. 31st, 2017)

Albert County’s Literacy Express is now up and running for its fourth year! A preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, Literacy Express takes place on the second floor of Hillsborough’s Train Museum. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays kids are dropped off for a free, one-hour session led by Nancy Land, B. Ed, with help from her assistant, Lois Snider.

Mother Goose in Riverside-Albert

23/1/2018

Songs and rhymes for young children have been passed down for generations. Such nursery rhymes and songs are a fun way to teach children to talk and to get ready to read. Sharing rhymes and finger plays also provide a nurturing experience between caregiver and child. But did you know that a nationally recognized program on teaching songs, rhymes and storytelling to families is one of the many programs offered to parents through Talk With Me- Anglophone East?

East Coast Kids in Riverside-Albert

23/1/2018

Chipoudy Communities Revitalization Committee (CCRC) has worked with East Coast Kids to provide a Licensed Daycare Centre in Riverside Consolidated School (RCS). Since June 2017, they have provided a special space in our rural community for children to play, laugh and learn. CCRC’s first step in ensuring that a daycare could open in RCS was to see that washrooms were constructed on the ground floor, near the preschool classroom. Anglophone East staff completed the work in time for the daycare to open for the summer of 2017.

Raising a reader in Albert County

23/1/2018

By Erica Muise
My husband Ira and I were both fortunate to grow up in book loving homes. When we had our son, Levi, in 2014 we knew we wanted to foster a love for reading and books at an early age. Being in a rural area I wasn’t sure how many programs we would have access to locally, but I was delighted to discover an abundance right here in Albert County.