ESTEVAN - The Estevan Area Literacy Group (EALG) continues to have a variety of programs that it uses to help further people's English skills.
Nature Smarts is a popular effort every summer, and the Battle of the Books returned this year for the first time since 2019. It gives youths from local schools a chance to test their knowledge and memory of novels.
But the EALG also has Learn and Soar for ages three to five, and a family language circle with the Southeast College for newcomer families.
"We work with the schools, which is really important," said co-ordinator Grace Caputo. "I'm going to be starting to go to the schools in the fall and spring and do some reading clubs.
"Our programs are really great. They're important. They're educational and they're fun. And we range with children in ages from three to 17, and we work with adults and families."
Caputo is the EALG's lone year-round employee, and the organization also has staff members hired for the summer months.
The literacy group's primary funder is the United Way Estevan, as the EALG is a member agency. They also have support from the Community Initiatives Fund and the Estevan Lions Club. Fundraisers occur during the year, and the organization receives a number of grants.
Caputo said the EALG gets a lot of positive feedback about their programs.
"We're very fortunate that because of those funders, the programs we offer are free so there's no charge for the individuals that are participating in them, which is really valuable for those individuals who require those services," she said.
The literacy group is currently in the midst of its annual Nature Smarts program. Kids ages four to 12 attend. They average about 100 children a week, and the youths have the option of coming in the mornings or afternoons from Mondays through Thursdays, and they can come anywhere from once a week to once a day.
"We have different activities that support each of those age groups," said Margaret Duncan, who is part of the Nature Smarts team. "We have seven weeks that it runs for, and we have a different theme that goes for each week."
Thanks to an arrangement with the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, local author Marie Donais Calder read to the kids on Aug. 2. She shared from one of her children's books and discussed her other projects: the Other Side series of books about her father's experiences after the Second World War, and her efforts to commemorate the plane crash of 1946 south of Estevan that killed 21 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
A technologist from the Shand Greenhouse came in, and a geologist will speak to the kids about dinosaurs.
"We're really fortunate to have the support of the community when offering programs," said Duncan.
Their year-end party will be on Aug. 24.
The kids seem to be enjoying the activities, according to Duncan and Caputo. They have been consistent with their numbers, and they can see progress in the kids through Nature Smarts.
"We're getting to the point where some of our kiddos are starting to age out, and they're wanting to come back and volunteer," said Duncan.
Once Nature Smarts wraps up, they will be resuming with their programs in the schools in the fall.
