PARSONS – The Nursery Bottom was filled Saturday with families who were walking, skating, biking, strolling and having fun sharing in the Tucker County Parents as Teachers Roll and Read event. Participants traveled from station to station as they shared the book, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” written by Bill Martin Jr.
“My son wanted to come down and hear about brown bear, brown bear because he likes bears,” said Roll and Read participant Jennifer Lipscomb. “I wanted Isaiah to come and get around other kids his age.”
Lipscomb brought Isaiah, age four and her daughter Alleigh to the event.
“I like brown bears, and like to ride my bike,” Isaiah said while peddling ahead to one of the stations.
“In Tucker County, the Parents as Teachers program is sponsored by the Tucker County Family Resource Network,” said FRN Director April Miller. “The idea is for the families to travel from station to station to complete activities related to the book, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? All families receive a copy of the book as well.”
Miller said there was eight stations set up in the Nursery Bottom, and the event hopes to promote physical activity, literacy and family involvement.
“There is a duck pond that corresponds with what the bear sees in the book,” Miller said. “At one station, there is a treasure hunt. We try to do community activities a few times a year.”
Miller said Parents as Teachers events are happening across the United States in September as part of the program’s 30 th anniversary.
“We chose the book locally because of the brown bear being the West Virginia state animal,” Miller said. “We thought it would be fun, and we have them out walking and it’s beautiful.”
Tucker County Parents as Teachers Director Angie Davis said the program has really expanded in the last two years.
“We have hired two more educators,” Davis stated. “We work with families from pregnancy to kindergarten. We visit the families once monthly and help with development appropriate activities with common items. We also screen children for developmental delays for vision and hearing.”
Davis said the program offers home visits, group connections, referrals and screenings.
“We are set to expand into Randolph County in November,” said Davis. “We received federal funding and since we are already established, they have asked us to expand into Randolph County and in the coming years, Mineral, Hardy and Grant counties. I am glad they see that early childhood education is important. We catch delays and help out in many areas.”
Additional information about the Tucker County Parents as Teachers program is available by calling 304-478-3827 or online at parentsasteachers.org.
