The Bright Lights Book Project: Summer in the Park(s), Part 1
Contributed by Alys Culhane
It was one of those rare sunny, warm, windless days in Palmer, one in which local residents chose to be outside. On this particular day, a handful of parents and children were spending time in Bugge Park, located at the far end of Cobb Street. Free lunches and books were an added draw.
I took in the park landscape. Two Kids Kupboard volunteers were sitting at a table passing out lunches. Two teenage girls were pulling books from the Lions Club’s big little library. Another was lying on her back, reading a book. A mother sat at a picnic table, holding a young child. A little boy, about 8 years old, was reading a children’s book about excavation to his 4-year-old brother.
At 12:30pm, a handful of children came racing through the gate entrance to where BLBP Summer in the Park(s) staff had laid out a tarp, colorful desks, crayons, and sheets of butcher paper. The children, who were Summer in the Park(s) returnees, sat down, began coloring, and looked expectantly at Kora Dorman, who held a copy of The Cat in the Hat.
Newcomers left the playground equipment and ventured over to see what was going on. I told them it was Cat in the Hat storytime and invited them to have a seat. The 12 children remained rapt as Kora read the book. Summer in the Park(s) staff member Mike Purcell, who was dressed as the Cat in the Hat, led the children in a group activity. He pulled hats out of a bin, asked participants which category they belonged to, such as fun, group, or winter, and then asked them to place each one in three separate hula hoops.
The children then made their own paper hats and participated in a Cat in the Hat game. Mike held up a specific Dr. Seuss book and had them do activities related to the title, such as hopping when he held up Hop on Pop. At the game’s conclusion, children were encouraged to take Seuss books home.
The above was a typical Summer in the Park(s) day. The project began June 1 and will end Aug. 7. It takes place Mondays and Wednesdays at Bugge Park and Tuesdays and Thursdays at A-Moosement Park. On Fridays at midday, BLBP volunteers occupy the side area of the Palmer Visitor Center and talk with passersby about BLBP and the next week’s Summer in the Park(s) curriculum.
The Story in the Park(s) curriculum includes storytime, hands-on activities, and movement-related activities. Naturalist-based themes include plants, ants, worms, spiders, bees, skulls and bones, fossils, and Dr. Seuss. The remaining program lessons will center around balance and movement, measurement, transportation, and finally, farm animals and harvest, which will promote children’s activities at the upcoming Alaska State Fair.
Community members who have assisted us include Mat-Su Garden Club member Meredith Buchman; former teacher Linda Jo Klappervich, who led a bee-related storytime; and Zoren Kaiser, a 15-year-old entomologist.
The combined BLBP and Kids Kupboard motto remains, “Nourish the mind, nourish the body.”
BLBP’s intent remains to get books into the hands of appreciative readers. As we discovered by placing bookcases and newspaper boxes throughout the Mat-Su Valley, making books accessible to young and old alike increases literacy levels. Our outreach program, which takes place outdoors rain or shine five days a week, has complemented those efforts.
The program’s primary challenge has been weather-related. A-Moosement Park has covered picnic shelters, but Bugge Park does not. On our first heavy rain day, we set up a small shelter in Bugge Park and spent time with one individual.
The child had decided in advance that she would attend our midday session, and on her way to the shelter, she stopped and picked up a worm. No surprise, she was present when we discussed worms. On this particular day, she and her grandmother were wearing heavy-duty rain suits. BLBP has since invested in a larger shelter.
The Summer in the Park(s) program has been made possible by the Mat-Su Health Foundation, the City of Palmer, the Palmer Lions Club, and the Rasmuson Foundation. Their sponsorship has paid for staffing, equipment, and promotion, which are much needed when putting together literacy-based outreach programs like ours.
Alys Culhane is a lifelong reader who enjoys reading to BLBP project volunteers. To contribute to BLBP’s efforts, contact her at director@brightlightsbookproject.org.
