LYNN — The city opened its first permanent StoryWalk experience at Flax Pond this Wednesday in a stride to provide children with more opportunities to develop their literacy skills.
StoryWalk is an educational project that takes pages from children’s books and mounts them on posts displayed in a sequence, allowing children to walk along a trail while reading the story. Geared toward children ages two to six, parents are encouraged to guide their children through the story and ask them engaging questions, known as dialogic reading.
“When you ask the questions, kids start to think critically. This is an excellent way for them to start building their vocabularies, which is a big part of learning to read. They also need to understand what a book is and what the text is for them to decide if they like reading,” Early Literacy Specialist Chrissy Lerardi said of dialogic reading.
Lynn Coordinated Family and Community Engagement (CFCE) Coordinator Kathleen Torosian explained the benefits of combining reading and outdoor activities during a child’s formative years.
“Children learn through play, and parents are their child’s first teacher. So this is a way for parents and children to engage together,” she said.
Lynn Public Schools Assistant Director of Early Childhood Curriculum and Instruction Kelsey Bartlett provided insight as to why StoryWalk experiences are recommended for children six and under.
“One of our goals is to instill a lifelong love of learning and reading. This age group can be really distractible and have a lot of energy, so we felt the interactive display was really developmentally appropriate for the students and the families,” she said.
While a new story will be installed every season, the first Flax Pond StoryWalk selection is the book “Lost!” by David McPhail. It tells the tale of a young boy who finds a bear in the woods and helps it find its way home, and was chosen due to its relatable themes and exciting journey.
“We felt kids could really identify with the story, because it takes place in a city. I love the way StoryWalk has a parent and child guide themselves through things, which is similar to the plot of the book,” Bartlett said.
At the ribbon-cutting celebration on Wednesday, the Flax Pond StoryWalk installation was recognized with citations from the Lynn City Council and Mayor Jared Nicholson.
“This amazing project is bringing together some of the biggest sources of joy and pride in the city for our young people — our parks, our schools, our books — and combining them all into one amazing project,” Nicholson said during the ceremony.
The Flax Pond StoryWalk installation is free year-round to families residing in Lynn, Nahant, and Sagus. It is funded through a CFCE grant awarded to Lynn Public Schools by the Department of Early Education and Care, and was built by carpentry students at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute and their educator Kenneth Beaudet.
“This project started as a vision to encourage literacy, outdoor activity, and community engagement, and grew into a vibrant experience that brings books to life here at Flax Pond,” Bartlett said.
