Literacy Day! The Key That Opens the Doors to Knowledge

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” -Dr. Seuss

Literacy Day is an exciting day, which allows our learners in grades 1 to 3 to showcase their literacy levels to their parents and guardians. Parents come to school with their children to meet the teachers, engage in lessons, and see their children participate in educational activities. It is a well-established day in our termly calendar to highlight the importance of literacy to our learners, their parents and the broader communities that we serve. It is also a great opportunity for parents to learn about the Impact Network model, how tablets are utilized, and the way lessons are conducted for their children.

Literacy day is a way to involve parents in the learning process and to allow them to share literacy skills and knowledge with their children in an educational and fun way. The event not only sharpens the parent’s skills but strengthens the relationship between themselves and their children. With many parents having only basic literacy skills, they are excited to see their children read and share what they have learned in class. It is a nice space where parents also get the opportunity to meet and interact with other parents in the community and collectively celebrate the impact that quality education has on their children.

 The activities are coordinated by our Teacher Supervisors, Teachers and the Operations team across all Impact Network sites in three districts (Katete, Sinda and Petauke).

This year Literacy Day was bigger than ever before! Involved in the event were 36 schools, 2,014 parents, 112 teachers and 2,532 students in grades 1 to 3. Activities included: identifying vowels, reading words and sentences, matching objects with words, quizzes (parents vs students), word puzzles, games, spelling bees and poetry presentations. All the activities were structured in a semi-formal way and the results were great.

“Literacy opens the doors to knowledge and places. Literacy follows us every day, unconsciously: at home, on TV, in shops, restaurants, work, buses, and streets. Literacy is everywhere.”

It is with this in mind that we strive for our learners and their parents to be familiar with the world in which they find themselves through reading. We know that literacy follows them on their way home, at the farm, on the playground and in many other places that they visit. Above all, it helps them to get connected to places that they have never been and to know things that they have never heard before. This is why we celebrate and share all the knowledge and skills that students have acquired through reading with parents and community members. Literacy truly opens doors to new opportunities and we want everyone to take part!

-Amos