November is Family Literacy Month in Massachusetts.
In this 2008 file photo, Cindy J. McNaught, East Longmeadow children’s librarian, right, reads “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss to Jennifer L. Thompson and her daughters, Aleigh E. Thompson, 2, left, and Anna Cait Thompson, 4, all of East Longmeadow. EAST LONGMEADOW – Family walks to promote literacy will be held in East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Ludlow and Wilbraham this weekend.
Community Partnerships for Children, an annual grant funded by the state Department of Early Education and Care and distributed by the Ludlow Public Schools, will sponsor the walks to promote the benefits of literacy for children.
“We work with parents and their children from birth until the age of 8,” said Cindy M. Milner, community coordinator for the grant. “Our mission is to support literacy, healthy childhood development, and support parents in their role as parents.”
Gov. Deval L. Patrick recently declared November as Family Literacy Month, and Milner thought it was a perfect opportunity to organize the walks.
Milner decided to use the StoryWalk program, which combines a children’s story with a popular walking route. The program was developed in 2007 by Anne Ferguson, of Montpelier, Vt. The walks promote the importance of families reading together and the benefits of young children being read to often, Milner said.
There will also be walks at Post Office Park in Wilbraham, East Street in Ludlow and Bliss Park in Longmeadow.
The walks are self-guided, which means families can come any time between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Friday through Sunday and walk through the park, bike trail or downtown and read pages of a story at different spots, Milner said.
In East Longmeadow and Longmeadow pages of a story will be spread out across the bike trail and park. In Wilbraham and Ludlow the pages will be posted on the windows of local businesses.
The first StoryWalk is dedicated to Cynthia MacNaught, the children’s librarian at the East Longmeadow Public Library. MacNaught has been a librarian for more than 30 years.
“We chose her for her love of children and reading. We thought she would be the perfect person for these first walks,” Milner said.
For information, call Milner at (413) 583-3527.