“Studies consistently prove that reading with your children at very young ages helps develop vocabulary and grammar skills, a sense of story structure, even basic directional skills such as how English letters and words read from left to right. Quite simply, the more parents read with their children, the better they will do in school,” notes Sheridan Turner, President and CEO of Kohl Children’s Museum.
In an effort to promote childhood literacy, the Glenview museum plans to participate in the national “Read for the Record” Day on October 3, in which schools, libraries, and other institutions nationwide will spotlight the importance of early literacy by collectively reading “Otis,” by Loren Long.
Kohl Children’s Museum will also open “Storywalk” on October 1 in Habitat Park on the museum’s campus. Developed in conjunction with the Glenview Park District and Glenview Public Library, the temporary exhibit features 18 child-height stands placed throughout the park, each displaying two pages of “Leaves” by David Ezra Stein. The placement of the stands allows children and parents to progressively read a book as they meander through the garden walk, combining the focus of literacy, physical activity and engagement with nature in a fun and unconventional setting.
Indoors, “Sheridan’s Books and Crannies” opens on October 1, reinventing the museum’s current “Play Library” exhibit. This new and improved exhibit of a pretend bookstore features a reading loft, nooks where kids can sit with a book, and regularly-changing books and periodicals. Underwritten by the Souder Family Foundation, the exhibit also includes a variety of activities to promote literacy, including learning writing motions, rhyming spinners, magnetic sorting, and a small performance space with a costume trunk and magnet walls so children can create their own stories and then act them out.
For more information on thesm exhibits and the museum, visit www.kohlchildrensmuseum.org or call 847-832-6600.
