Story hour captures kids’ imaginations
Jolene Mihailovich, 3, of Portage, was at the first “Storytime in the Park” Friday at Woodland Park with her mom, Melissa, and had comments for the books as they were read aloud.
“I am going to think about these books,” Jolene said.
A forecast of snow did not stop the Portage Parks Department from starting their new program, “Storytime in the Park.” Portage Parks is partnering with the Porter County Library System to offer the monthly gathering for children at 10 a.m. on the first Friday of each month.
“Reading books out loud to children develops strong early literacy skills such as talking, singing and playing,” said Sandra King, assistant team lead for children’s programing at PCPLS. “Interactive story times, such as today’s, foster an early love of books that hopefully sticks with the child through the rest of their lives.”
The program is free and no registration is required. “It is our hope that we can get kids and their families in the parks for a free story time and then they can extend their play time to the playground,” said Dyan Leto, superintendent of Portage Parks and Recreation.
“The city of Portage Parks and Recreation Department’s mission to serve the people of greater Portage in lifelong leisure activities, developing a sense of community and partnering with local organizations,” said Leto. “Storytime in the Park serves our mission in so many ways.”
The first Storytime was at the
Blue Spruce building at Woodland Park Friday morning. Storytime will move to different parks throughout Portage.
Ashley Montelongo, program coordinator for PCPLS, sang songs, played games and read stories with the first visitors to Storytime.
As Montelongo read, she used her voice and hands to help the little ones get involved in the story.
Katy Kudyba, of Portage, brought her 14-month-old son, Noah. Noah enjoyed the parachute game and the singing. “He’s definitely having fun,” said Kudyba.
Plans are also underway to work with the PCPLS to install a permanent Storytime Trail at Woodland Park. “The hope with this would be to change out the stories seasonally and bring in more little ones to the
smaller trails here at Woodland Park,” said Leto, who added they are currently working on funding for the project.
The next Storytime will be Friday, April 7, at Woodland Park. For more information, email the Parks Department at parks@ portage-in.com, or call the park office at 219-762-1675.