In partnership with the Friends of the Library, we bring you the Story Walk, a page-by-page reading and walking journey at local parks. Each stop on the Story Walk offers a fun reading activity designed to build literacy skills while having fun as a family.
Monroe County Story Walk Locations
Flatwoods Park: 9499 Flatwoods Road, Gosport, in partnership with Monroe County Parks & Recreation
Oh No, George! by Chris Haughton
Rev. Ernest D. Butler Park: 812 W. Ninth Street, Bloomington, in partnership with Bloomington Parks & Recreation
A Way with Wild Things by Larissa Theule
Throughout our Story Walks, you will see icons for Talk, Sing, Read, Write, and Play with coordinating activity suggestions to help encourage the growth of early literacy skills.
Children learn about language by listening to parents and adults talk and by joining in the conversation. Hearing and joining in on talking and conversation not only builds language fluency, but also builds important background knowledge for kids.
With singing, kids can learn new words and information, develop listening skills, and phonological awareness. Because singing slows down language so children can hear the individual sounds that make up a word it strengthens their phonological awareness.
Reading together, or shared reading, is the single most important activity caregivers can do with their children. It develops vocabulary and comprehension, nurtures a love of reading, and motivates children to want to learn to read.
Children learn about letters, words and stories when given the chance to try writing on their own. This is the gateway to writing. When a child signs their name on a piece of paper, even if it is scribbling, they are learning that they can write something that represents their name.
Children learn about language through play. More than that, playing builds conceptual knowledge of the world, words are able to map onto concepts, it engages children in problem-solving, and it fosters important social interactions.A StoryWalk is a self-guided, outdoor reading experience whereby a children’s book is deconstructed and the pages of the book are laminated and placed on wooden stakes or in permanent kiosks along a walking trail.