Learning happens everywhere a child goes, but parents, grandparents and caregivers may not always know how to support that learning.
That won’t be the case at Castle Creek Playground at Fetterman Park in Grafton. When families take their children to Castle Creek Park now, they’ll be able to play fun games together that will help the child come to school ready to succeed.
That’s because United Way of Marion and Taylor Counties, with funding provided by the George W. Bowers Family Charitable Trust, and volunteers from Taylor County Family Resources, Stepping Stone and PATCH, created an outdoor interactive early learning Trail at Castle Creek Playground to help parents, grandparents and caregivers turn excursions into fun learning moments. “These early learning opportunities are critical to school readiness and development” said United Way Community Impact Director, Emily Swain. “We are thrilled to have the Born Learning Trail installed and are incredibly grateful for the partners we have in Taylor County.”
United Way Executive Director Brett White worked with Taylor County Family Resources to select the location for the Trail and brought the plan before Grafton’s City Council for approval. “Since we have expanded our service to include Taylor County, our funded partners have been instrumental in welcoming us to the community and helping move United Way’s mission forward,” White said.
Based on the latest early childhood research and approved by national early learning experts through United Way of America, the Born Learning Trail is designed to help adults interact with children to boost language and literacy development and to help caregivers understand how to best support early learning in outdoor everyday moments. There are ten signs on the Born Learning Trail, each including activities such as hopscotch, story telling and exploration of the natural world.
United Way of Marion and Taylor Counties will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 10, 2019 at 10:00am at Castle Creek Playground, 1340 Railroad Street, Grafton, WV 26354 to celebrate this exciting addition. The event is open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend.
