United Way of Central Missouri will hold a ribbon cutting on April 15 at 10 am at Memorial Park for the newly installed Born Learning Trail. Learning happens everywhere a child goes, but parents, grandparents and caregivers may not always know how to support that learning.
When parents, grandparents and caregivers take their children to the Born Learning Trail at Memorial Park, they’ll be able to play fun games together that will help the child come to school ready to succeed. That’s because United Way of Central Missouri and Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Foundation created an outdoor interactive early learning Trail at Memorial Park to help families turn excursions into fun learning moments.
The Born Learning Trail is a series of learning activities that any adult can play with young children. Based on the latest early childhood research and approved by national early learning experts through United Way Worldwide, the Born Learning Trail is designed to help adults interact with children to boost language and literacy development and to help caregivers understand how to best support early learning in outdoor everyday moments. There are 10 signs on the Born Learning Trail, each including activities such as Hopscotch and identifying shapes and letters. Watch! Stop! Learn! Play! Encourages the caregiver to follow the child’s lead, building the child’s curiosity and confidence.
“The Born Learning Trail promotes fun and games – important components of early childhood learning,” said Theresa Verslues, Vice-President of United Way of Central Missouri. “Research tells us children are literally ‘born learning.’ That means five years of education take place before they ever enter kindergarten. We know that what happens in a child’s early years matters – for success in life and for school readiness. And we want to help parents, grandparents, and caregivers use everyday outings…including trips to Memorial Park – to support that learning.”
United Way of Central Missouri established an Early Childhood Advisory Committee and identified three focus areas. To support and promote early childhood programs and initiatives in the Central Missouri area, provide Born Learning materials to low-income families as an introduction to early learning, and identify gaps in services/needs in early childhood in our community.
For more information on Born Learning resources go to www.bornlearning.org or contact the United Way office at (573) 636-4100.
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