Family & Kids Programs
Empowering families through literacy and lifelong learning for a brighter future.
About Family Literacy
Family literacy is parents/caregivers and children learning together. A child’s literacy development begins at birth and is shaped by their experiences in the home environment. By supporting parents/caregivers in their role as their children’s first teachers, we can provide a positive impact on the child’s emerging literacy skills and attitudes toward learning. Family literacy can apply to all families, and to most activities that take place within the everyday life at home. Young children mostly learn through the power of play, which helps to nurture the imagination and to give a child a sense of adventure. Through play, they can learn essential skills such as problem solving, sharing, emotional development, gross, and fine motor skills, language and so much more. It has been proven that when parents/caregivers learn together with the child, through a wide variety of daily activities, they assist their children and themselves in becoming lifelong learners.
How to access family programs?
Fall/Winter (September to May)
The Family Literacy Centre (FLC) is a large family-friendly space filled with books, crafts, toys, puzzles, music, and more. Open seven days per week, the FLC offers free, everyone-welcome, daily drop-in programs for families to learn together through play. With structured activities most mornings, and unstructured drop-in play time every afternoon, our programs help families build essential life skills while providing early learning opportunities for their children. Our qualified staff specialize in early childhood education and family literacy. We connect families to the community resources they need and help them become lifelong learners.
The FLC is located at 1191 Front Street and is open from September through May. Come visit us and have fun! All programs are free, drop-in and everyone welcome. No registration required.
Spring/Summer (May to September)
Every year as the spring season comes to an end, we close the Family Literacy Centre on Front Street and open our summer location The Pioneer Hotel in Shipyards Park. Come visit this summer from late May – mid September and enjoy your favourite free, drop-in programs and activities in the Learning Garden! Sing and dance by the Yukon River; pick a fresh strawberry; learn about growing; play in the mud kitchen; explore with magnifying glasses; browse our large selection of free books; and much more!
Please note that opening date is weather dependant.
For regular updates on our year-round free programming, please check out our Facebook page.
Outreach
Our Community Outreach and Engagement program takes family literacy programs out of the Family Literacy Centre (FLC) and into the communities. Through this program, our staff bring fun, inclusive, and free activities to children and families across the Yukon. Whether we’re working in partnership with territorial governments and community organizations, or on independent projects, you’ll find us at culture camps, local events, holiday celebrations, and much more. Supporting all communities in the Yukon is important to us. This program connects us to all Yukoners, and to the rich tapestry of projects taking place across the territory. Some of our current outreach work includes professional development workshops for childcare workers; activities for children and families at large-scale cultural events such as The Moosehide Gathering and The Adäka Festival; and attending culture camps in partnership with local schools and First Nations. Through the warmer seasons you can find us traveling around the Yukon in our Go For Literacy Bus, a mobile play centre filled with educational activities, art materials, an international library, free books and more! For more information on how the FLC team can visit your community please contact us!
Upcoming Programs
Explore our family literacy programs
