Building Connections Through Fun and Learning at Family Activity Nights

Discover how our Family Activity Nights and Mornings foster meaningful connections, empower learners, and celebrate the joy of literacy in our diverse community.

Some of the events that our Family Literacy Program organizes each school year are the Family Activity Nights (FANs) or Family Activity Mornings (FAMs).

The purpose of the FANs/FAMs are to engage and encourage learners to build meaningful connections with their families through every activity. We provide materials that families can use to interact with each other while learning in a fun way, showing them how to apply learning skills into their daily lives, and empowering learners to lead and participate in the learning process with their children.

At our FANs/FAMs, we interact with families that are multilingual, have literacy levels that range from pre-literate to advanced, and have children ages 0-18 years old. Our learners come from various countries, backgrounds, and professions, and they have a variety of learning goals. It is our honor to provide programming to meet the needs of our diverse community of learners and their families.

The parents in our program are reminded that besides being learners, they are the leaders in their children’s home, school, and community. They are their children’s first teachers, modeling literacy behaviors all the time. We explain that literacy is the ability to read, write, speak, and listen in a way that allows us to communicate effectively and make sense of the world.

This school year, our theme is “Wonderful World of Words.” With simple, funny games, we helped learners practice vocabulary and grammar. Our most recent FANs/FAMs were a resounding success, exceeding all expectations with a delicious meal, vibrant atmosphere, record attendance, and positive feedback from participants and organizers alike, solidifying its position as a community highlight! We’re thankful for the power of literacy to make a difference – and for our learners’ participation and partners who make this event possible. Thank you for being part of this journey with us!

Thanks to Grand Rapids Public Library for hosting us, and to Grand Rapids Public Schools for their partnership and support for this programming.