By Sue Tiffin

Published May 31 2018

A bird’s eye view of the Minden Hills Cultural Centre and Museum grounds on the morning of May 25 would have shown parades of children heading there for a StoryWalk hosted by the EarlyON Child and Family Centre. Students from kindergarten and Grade 1 classes at Archie Stouffer Elementary School as well as kids from the nearby OEYC children’s daycare and kids who were simply dropping in with their parents were flocking to the grounds to read “Jo MacDonald had a Garden” together outside.

According to the EarlyON Child and Family Centre a StoryWalk combines the pleasure of reading a children’s book aloud with all the joys and benefits of walking together outdoors. Pages of the story were set up around the Cultural Centre grounds for kids to read each page – younger kids from ASES were supported by older students from the school while daycare educators engaged the youngest of the kids. At each page of the story kids could explore a related activity independently or with help from EarlyON Child and Family Centre organizers including Julie Pearson Jan Bronson and Bev Jackson. Some activities saw kids matching seeds to their packages identifying vegetables or – a crowd favourite – digging for worms.

The StoryWalk was funded with a donation from United Way. The EarlyON Child and Family Centre also hopes to host special programs including a special Abbey Gardens morning parent and child yoga classes park day in Haliburton and swimming in the fall.