Greater Victoria Alliance for Literacy

Literacy Events Across the Greater Victoria Area

Greater Victoria Alliance for Literacy (GVAL) is so proud to facilitate its second annual literacy celebration event, where we wish to make the community more aware of the many fabulous, enriching and educational literacy services that exist on Southern Vancouver Island.

We start on Family Day (Mon., Feb. 17, 2025) and end the following Sunday. We hope to see you there, as there will be activities for all ages!

A big thanks goes to Hillside Centre for hosting us and for marketing the event. Another shout-out goes to Bolen Books for providing space Superhero Story Time. We would be remiss, if we did not mention GVAL’s funder, namely the Victoria Foundation, which has been a long time supporter of literacy on Southern Vancouver Island. It is wonderful when the different sectors in community can support each other for an honourable cause!

We have a poster on the various activities further below, but here is a little more detail:

• Door Prizes provided by Imagination Library and other goodies for the kiddos, as well as literacy information from our partners can be found at Hillside Centre’s Guest Services
• Four story walks by Story Studio Writing Society – Mon., Feb. 17- Sun., Feb. 23 – throughout Hillside Centre

• Superheroes of Victoria promenade an hour before story time  

• Superheroes of Victoria story time at Bolen’s – Mon., Feb. 17 and Sun., Feb. 23 with 2 readings each day: 11:30am and 1:30pm.  

• Standing activity table for preschoolers by Walmart – Mon., Feb. 17 and Sat., Feb. 22 

• Activity table by Walmart – Mon., Feb. 17 and Sat., Feb. 22 

• GVAL literacy resource information booth by Walmart – Mon., Feb. 17 and Sat., Feb. 22  

GVAL Activity Table Schedule:

MON FEB 17 

1. Family Tree (1hr) – Mon 11am – (age 6-8) 

Children learn to better understand their origins and identity – something to be proud of!

2. Cartoon mini-workshop (1hr) – Mon 12pm – 2pm – (age 8-12) 

Children are taught about how to structure a cartoon set by using their imagination.

3. Digital Smarts (1hr) – Mon 2pm – 3pm – (age 10+) 

Learn some tips on how to detect online scams and being critical while browsing the internet. Adults are welcome to join.

4. Penpal Writing (2hrs) – Mon 3-5pm – (age 11+) 

Using Victoria Literacy Connection penpal tools, community members are encouraged to write a postcard to within our community on Southern Vancouver Island.

SAT FEB 22 

1. Math for Kiddos (1hr) Sat 10am-11am – (age 2-5) 

Simple math games where pre-schoolers explore counting. 

2. Make your own newspaper (1hr) Sat 11am-12pm – (age 10-14) 

Template newspaper broadsheets are provided with some instruction, but then the imaginative content comes from the child. Some words around fake news and source critique will also be provided.

3. Story Making (2hrs) – Sat 12pm-2pm – (age 5-10) 

A Story Studio program where kids learn about story structure.

4. Penpal Writing (2hrs) – Sat 2pm – 4pm (age 11+) 

Using Victoria Literacy Connection penpal tools, community members are encouraged to write a postcard to our network. We are checking out a couple of elderly homes to see if their residents would like to receive these cards. 

5. Calligraphy and Cursive (1hr) – Sat 4-5pm (age 9+) 

Worksheets with various types of calligraphy writing and some artistic examples to reach for.  

Come find the GVAL booth outside of the Walmart’s inside entrance, where we will have a kiddo table and a more organized activity table. We will be happy to see you there!

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