QUALITY STORYTENTS
A resource for family, early childhood and community literacy workers
In 1995, after the birth of my first child, I returned to literacy work. Up to that point, I had focused almost exclusively on adult literacy. With a child of my own, I began thinking and reading about literacy and young children. I was especially interested in family literacy. I became involved with the local Family Resource Centre, and volunteered to lead a “Storytime Drop-in” on Wednesday afternoons. In a large playroom, the children and I took books out of boxes and laid them out on a colourful play mat. Children played with or read the books. Parents read books to their children. I read books to my own child and to anyone else who cared to listen. That summer, I took a box of books and a blanket, and offered a storytime at the organization’s summer picnic.
Reading and book play increased shortly thereafter, when Wendell Dryden joined the Family Resource Centre as Children’s Program Coordinator. With a background in early childhood education, Wendell set out books every day as a matter of course. He also worked with interested parents, including myself, to transform a toy lending library into a book and toy library.
The next summer I again brought my books and blanket to the summer picnic.
It
was a hot day, and we frequently shifted the blanket, covered in books,
to take advantage
of the shade of nearby trees. I remember Wendell saying, “Wouldn’t
it be great if we had a
tent to give us some shade?”
With that, the seeds for the Storytent
program were planted.