#IReadCanadian #NowMoreThanEver Celebrate on February 17, 2021.

 

I was asked to volunteer with the #IReadCanadian committee this year and I happily agreed. Last year, my Grade 7 students did a great job as the IRC media campaign organizers for our school. We excitedly promoted IRC Day in our school community and we used the #IReadCanadian hashtag to share our activities across social media platforms.  

This is the second year that we are celebrating Canadian children's literature with IRC Day. The goal is to raise awareness of our amazing Canadian identity by reading a Canadian book for 15 minutes on February 17th. It's a great opportunity to grow our readers!

This year, I have given more time to the promotion of IRC day.  I helped to update the toolkit for educators and librarians on  https://ireadcanadian.com/day/  I joined forces with my Barrie Public Librarian, to complete the proclamation request. The City of Barrie will now proclaim IRC Day on February 17th!  We hope other municipalities will also proclaim IRC day!!

As a fledgling celebration, we are work with no official funding sources. We rely on the generosity of volunteers through several reading advocacy organizations.  I decided to ask the Barrie Rotary group if they could fund the creation of IRC flags that will be raised throughout the month of February. Gratefully, I received a Yes, to my proposal. Our local Flags Unlimited, created our first batch of flags. They are  3'x6 ' and will be delivered to schools, libraries and organizations to help celebrate the day.

My favourite part of the IRC Day planning was the chance to connect and collaborate with other reading advocates across the country.  Our celebrations may be online this year but I think we will have more participation than last year. 

Thanks to Eric Walters for the inspiration and the invite!  Don't forget to pick up a Canadian read for February 17th!

#Reading #Books#CanLit #KidLit #ForestOfReading #NowMoreThanEver #IReadCanadian @kidsbookcentre @ontariolibraryassociation @communication_jeunesse @ericwaltersauthor @orcabook @accesscopyright @TellingTalesOrg @IReadCanadian  Ontario Library Association, Canadian Children's Books Centre, Canadian School Libraries, Canadian