The Library held eight health-themed family literacy events last year, all funded by a grant from Kaiser Permanente.
From our Librarians:
When working with our low literacy families we try to focus on simple actions and concepts that relate to healthy living and wellness.
Good eating and nutrition is always on our list- many children have never seen food growing in the ground, so planting and harvesting food are special spring and fall themes for us. Stories like “The Carrot Seed” demonstrate how plants grow, and singing songs like “A-P-P-L-E” melds early literacy learning with everyone’s favorite fruit. Every fall we enjoy sharing the magic of the apple peeler corer machine, and it never fails to amaze the children as they turn the crank and watch their apple peel, then core, then transform into a spiral.
This year we added the opportunity for families at HomeSafe and Families for Literacy to make their own lavosh roll up sandwiches. It sounds simple, but grating carrots and radishes is pretty exciting if you’ve never done it before. And, somewhat mysteriously, all the picky eating disappears when you’ve made your sandwich yourself.
At HomeSafe we also incorporated a little electioneering into our program. Children nominated and voted for their favorite fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. The winners were broccoli, strawberries, and ice cream. While the children were voting, their moms enjoyed a yoga session, which they found more restorative than they ever expected.
A huge thanks to Kaiser for the funding and everyone who works to make family literacy programs possible.