Project READ
- Feb 26, 2018
- 2 min read

Project READ Families Share the LOVE at Monthly Story Hour

Our two February Family Story Hours brought over 130 learners and families together, as well as 18 community volunteers. This truly is a community event, where whole families are immersed in literacy, and community members create and learn side-by-side.

All families were given the book, Max & Tallulah to take home with them, as well as many other self-selected books that were out on display. This event helps encourage reading in the home by enabling families to continue to add to their book collections. Through entertainment, pre-literacy crafts, and sensory activities, parents receive modeling on how to read aloud to their children and how to use everyday materials to create educational crafts and games at home to reinforce literacy learning.

Librarians and storytellers, Mike and Anjaline Eppely, used music and books to tell stories to our young learners and their families, while children's musician, James Henry from Samba Samba used percussion instruments from around the world in his interactive performace. Students were able to sing along and learn how to use new instruments, while expanding their world view.

Students dove into some sensory play and art projects based around Valentine's Day, including making Process Valentines with liquid watercolors and creating shapes and objects at our Playdough Station. For our young builders and makers, a TinkerLab Station was set up for creating "Deconstructed Valentines," and a Building Station was available for experimentation with Zootubes, Magna Tiles and Snap Circuits.

Families ended this fun-filled evening with bags of fresh vegetables to go, donated by Second Harvest Food Bank.

To recreate these projects at home, check out these links and instructions. Have fun, and see you next month!