Literacy Playground

There's an article about a very cool new library for kids - pardon me, an indoor literacy playground - over at the Toronto Star.

In case you need persuading to make a visit, here's a little preview:

Right from the start, it is fun. Kids insert their library cards in a red globe, which sets off a cavalcade of lights overhead.

To the right is the rocket ship, with small benches inside and a bin full of puppets for the puppet theatre cut out at the back.

Big wooden cubes on the floor offer all kinds of letter and shape activities.

The "wall of blocks," created by the Ontario Science Centre, retells poems and nursery rhymes; a cursive writing table has letters carved into the top for children to trace. Two toddler computers, with brightly coloured keyboards and tiger-ear headphones, link directly to online books.

A big, red mailbox encourages children to write letters and "mail" them to librarians and there's also a giant version of "Read Me A Book," by local Toronto writer and artist Barbara Reid, mounted kid-height on the wall.


Libraries have always been important to me, but never more so than as a mother. I think this sounds like a fab initiative. Thanks to Fuse #8 for the link.

Comments

kittenpie said…
It is a fantastic space - and something they we are working on putting into all the newly reno'd branches in Toronto. Mine will have one too, one day! Not quite the same - the space theme will be unique, but the same ideas of containing a literacy-rich play environment as family destination. I even managed to squeeze my pregnant self into the rocket!

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