This weekend over 300 families will come together at Fairfield Park for the Launchpad to Learning community event to enjoy a morning of fun as storytellers bring to life a variety of books around the theme of 'Water' and foster an appreciation of reading.

Storytellers will encourage children to participate and interact with the stories via movement and song, aiming to demonstrate the joy of storytelling and inspire parents to read to their children at home. For example Kiran Shah will create an original story with the children using "W" words including water to help with the building blocks of early literacy - vocabulary building, use of expressive language, enjoyment and engagement.

Launchpad to Learning is a free local community event, delivered by The Smith family and supported by Boeing, which aims to raise awareness of how parent and carers can improve literacy for children aged 0-5 years to help ensure that they start school with the necessary skills to learn.

The earliest years of life have important implications for a child's future and vulnerable families are especially likely to have very low or no access to support and programs, resources such as books, to support their child's transition from home to school. Launchpad to Learning aims to address this gap in the target communities by making parents aware of information, advice and resources available in the community that support early years literacy.

Wendy Field, Executive Director of Participation for The Smith Family says "The event provides an opportunity for the community to come together and have some fun but also provides parents access to local early childhood resources and services so they can provide a quality home learning environment for their children."