Promoting literacy and physical fitness

For the past several years that I have been teaching, I have been trying to find ways to encourage and promote family literacy. When I came across this idea for Story Walk, I knew I had to do it for the children in my community.

As families hike or walk a trail they read pages of a children's book, thus promoting literacy and physical fitness. I think it's a great idea!

My husband is a Park Ranger so we decided to make the Story Walk a collaboration between my school, Westfield Elementary, and where he works as a Ranger, Pilot Mountain State Park. We held the event on December 21st, 2013 at the park and featured the book, The Gingerbread Bear, by Robert Dennis. It was a big success and we had lots of families come out from numerous elementary schools in our county as well as from other counties.

The first 50 families received a free book and everyone walked away with gingerbread cookies. Families could also do crafts after the hike and make their own gingerbread bears.

Recently, I was asked to coordinate another Story Walk event with the other 10 elementary school media coordinators in my county! This will be a collaborative event and we are all so excited to work on a project together. I work with a wonderful group of Media Coordinators so I can't wait to see the outcome of this next event!

I will keep you posted!

The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg Hubbard Library.

I would like to give a special thanks to:

Just Save, Scholastic, Team Nutrition and North Surry High School for donating food, books and other materials that made my Story Walk possible.

Comments

Out Of The Dark & Into The Light

I am not one to talk about my personal life or insecurities, but here it goes. I recently lost 17 pounds and I'm feeling better than ever about myself. Was it easy?? No. It took a lot of dedication...BUT changing your eating habits can make a huge impact on your results. I teach dance fitness classes and I've done Boot Camps before...but didn't change my bad habits, so I didn't see the results I wanted. Sick of not seeing results, I simply changed the way I ate. Now that I've dropped the pounds, I'm going to the gym to tone up. "But you don't need to lose any weight!" I kept my feelings to myself because I didn't have a lot to lose compared to some, but being petite (standing at 5'2) those 17 extra pounds made a big difference. It was a terrible feeling. Ladies....Guys.....You can do it! If you are down on yourself about weight gain just remember, it can be done! Little changes can make a big difference. 1. Dri

Spring Dress Must Haves

In case you haven't noticed by now, I have a thing for lace and polka dots. There is just something about the girly lace details and fun prints that draw me in. My good friend gave me a gift card to a local boutique for my birthday and it had been burning a hole in my pocket ever since! I recently visited The Addition at F. Rees Boutique in Mt. Airy, NC and found the cutest BB Dakota Dress! It has flirty buttons on the front along the neckline. The fitted waist gives a very flattering look. This dress is adorable and perfect for spring and summer events! Wearing a size 0 for reference One of my favorite clothing stores is Altd. State. The store itself is gorgeous inside with their glamorous lighting and cozy dressing rooms. On my last visit I found the prettiest lace dress. Usually I steer away from light yellow, but I had to try it on anyway. It was too pretty to pass up. Once I tried it on, I knew it would be going home with me. I already have so many events I

It's Been A While...

I truly let blogging slip away from me over the past few months. After finding out my mom has breast cancer and learning that I am expecting a baby in May, I guess you could say I re-prioritized some things in my life. There is nothing more gut wrenching than learning that your mama and best friend has the C word. Let me tell you, she is the strongest woman I know. She had a double mastectomy in October and has been undergoing Chemo treatments since November. She is kicking cancer in the ass. Literally a week and a half after finding out my mom had cancer, I learned that I'm pregnant. My husband and I had made the decision to start trying, little did we know it would happen so soon! It was the best news! My husband and I were overjoyed and could not wait to share the news with our moms. We told them super early (6 weeks) because this little blessing was just what my mama needed to help her through her cancer diagnosis. Our moms were over the moon and my dad, I've never seen h

Little Venturing Librarian

Search This Blog