Storywalk: Taking Books and Kids Outdoors - Kimberly Vance-Lundsbye
Many people know that reading to children is one of the most valuable things we can do as parents and grandparents. It has a ripple effect on kids’ wellbeing today and on their job satisfaction when they grow up. Children learn about the world around them, problem-solving, and even their own values through the stories we read before bed. But as children spend more time learning on tablets and less on paper, reading to kids has become increasingly important. And as children spend more time on tablets, they spend less time playing and exploring outside. That is where the Storywalk program comes in.
A Storywalk is a deconstructed book with laminated pages clipped to posts through a green space. To encourage movement between pages, physical prompts are added like “walk like a duck” or “pretend to paddle a canoe” to the next page. This part is most appreciated by kids as they happily jump, dance, and tip-toe between the pages. Reading to kids requires a “time-in” that kids crave and kids need. Parents need it, too. In a world where a person has all the entertainment, recipes, emails, calendars, and every social connection they’ve ever made in the palm of their hand, taking a walk through a park and reading to kids is the break from the business we all need. Stretching up as tall as a tree and twirling like a dancer is the movement our bodies need.
Storywalks are installed every Friday in May-August from 10:00am-6:00pm in the garden at Parkside Art Gallery in 100 Mile House and pop-up in parks in Williams Lake throughout the summer.
For more information, contact Kimberly at 250-706-3143 or kimberly@caribooliteracy.com.
Read more great articles Family Literacy.
A Storywalk is a deconstructed book with laminated pages clipped to posts through a green space. To encourage movement between pages, physical prompts are added like “walk like a duck” or “pretend to paddle a canoe” to the next page. This part is most appreciated by kids as they happily jump, dance, and tip-toe between the pages. Reading to kids requires a “time-in” that kids crave and kids need. Parents need it, too. In a world where a person has all the entertainment, recipes, emails, calendars, and every social connection they’ve ever made in the palm of their hand, taking a walk through a park and reading to kids is the break from the business we all need. Stretching up as tall as a tree and twirling like a dancer is the movement our bodies need.
Storywalks are installed every Friday in May-August from 10:00am-6:00pm in the garden at Parkside Art Gallery in 100 Mile House and pop-up in parks in Williams Lake throughout the summer.
For more information, contact Kimberly at 250-706-3143 or kimberly@caribooliteracy.com.
Read more great articles Family Literacy.
