As the weather gets colder and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to limit activities, families with young children may feel like their options are limited when it comes to outdoor fun. To help combat those winter blues, Children & Youth Partnership for Dare County has updated the StoryWalk® at the Marshall and Gussie Collins Walkway located in Manteo for families to enjoy.
The StoryWalk® is a self-guided activity that encourages families to take a walk along the front loop of the Marshall and Gussie Collins Walkway, which is located on the south side of the Dare County Center at 950 Marshall C. Collins Drive in Manteo.
Along this path, families will find a fun children’s story to read that includes interactive movements—such as a quack and waddle like a duck to get to the next page —as well as questions that families can ask their child about the story.
Started in 2016, the StoryWalk® is a collaboration between CYP, the Dare County Center and the Dare County Library Foundation that offers a way to bring a new, fun way of engaging with stories to the community.
Books used for the StoryWalk® are chosen from the collection mailed out through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which is another of CYP’s literacy initiatives that mails age-appropriate books monthly to Dare County children ages birth to five years old.
For the early part of 2021, the story offered through the StoryWalk will be “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats. This story and the activities listed with it are available in both English and Spanish.
To learn more about the StoryWalk® or Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, contact Carla Heppert at cheppert@darekids.org or call 252-441-0614.
The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® is a registered service mark owned by Ferguson.