A local literacy facilitator shared her unique way of reaching families throughout the pandemic at a provincial conference in Richmond last week.
Kimberly Vance-Lundsbye, who has hosted several virtual book clubs for parents in the area through her work at Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy, presented a workshop at the Decoda Literacy Conference earlier this month.
“I wanted to share what we’ve been doing with our parent-themed book clubs over the past two years because I think it’s a bit of a unique program,” Vance-Lundsbye said. “We have bonded with so many families across the region. I am always both surprised and happy that parents and grandparents want to read and learn alongside us.
The workshop highlighted the various aspects of facilitating an online book club, including technical requirements, how to attract participants, and ways to reduce barriers that can prevent access to participation.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Vance-Lundsbye has hosted eight online book clubs, covering topics including neurodivergence, digital safety and raising feisty kids.
His presentation last week was attended by more than 20 conference attendees from across the country.
“It’s been almost three years since I presented at a conference,” Vance-Lundsbye said. “I’m proud of the work my colleagues and I have done over the past few years and I was thrilled to be invited to share what worked well and what we learned with people across the province and across Canada. . I think the group had fun and there was a lot of discussion about what online parenting book clubs might look like in other communities.
Vance-Lundsbye is currently working on setting up her next virtual book club, which will take place this summer. She said that with the easing of restrictions, the group will be able to meet in person, but the bulk of the club’s activities will still take place online “because that’s what works best for parents. busy”.
To learn more about CCPL programming, visit www.caribooliteracy.com
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