Winter Story Walk on Groton trail

Winter can be a long, cold and somewhat boring season for some people, especially children. It is true there are those who love to ski and snowboard, go sledding and sliding, build snowmen and make snow angels, and the list goes on for outdoor activities in our area.

As much fun as many of these things are, there are also children who would just rather stay inside and play video games, watch television or perhaps just do nothing and complain about how bored they are. Some children, especially those who are just beginning to learn how, love to read.

Whether the children in your life or sphere of influence prefer the outdoors or the indoors, reading is almost always an activity to be enjoyed by all.

As we think about reading to or with children, we generally think about being curled up in a cozy chair somewhere indoors, yet a place where reading a story can happen outdoors in a way that would be very appealing to those outdoor-loving children and would also entice the indoor lovers to want to spend some time outdoors exists right here in Groton.

With initial funding from the United Way of Tompkins County’s Youth and Philanthropy Grant, further supported by the Groton Public Library and Janet Watkins of Brittany Station on Main Street, the Family Reading Partnership established the Groton Story Walk — located on the part of the Groton Trail System that begins behind the Groton Memorial Park on Sykes Street — in August 2020.

Story walks are an interactive outdoor experience that both children and adults can enjoy together. Children learn best through interaction, both with the activity they are doing and with the adults who are special in their lives.

Book pages are laminated and mounted on posts and are installed along a path on the trail. Parents or caregivers walk along the path with their little ones and read each page as they come to it. The walking time in between reading stations makes an ideal setting to ask and answer questions with your children and build relationships.

Stories that are well suited to being read in this dynamic way are selected by the Family Reading Partnership in consultation with its early childhood specialist and rotated out throughout the year.

Groton’s first story walk featured the well-loved “Izzy’s Groton Adventure” by Mona Forney and Janet Watkins. Numerous children and adults have experienced the story walk featuring Izzy since August.

Kristin Prugh and her daughter, Violet, enjoyed it very much this past fall and are a classic example of the type of experience the story walk can be.

“Violet had already heard ‘Izzy’s Groton Adventures’ before a few times,” Kristin said. “But she was very excited to go from one page to another along the trail. Of course, we had to admire and collect fallen leaves along the way too.”

Violet, who is in kindergarten, said, “It was a lot of fun!”

Just recently, the Groton Story Walk was updated for winter. The new book, “Winter is Here” by Kevin Henkes, is a wonderful story that celebrates the sights, sounds and smells of the winter season. Snow falls, animals burrow, and children prepare for the wonders winter brings.

Henkes was the winner of the 2020 Children’s Literature Legacy Award, honoring an author or illustrator published in the United States whose books have made a significant and lasting contribution to literature for children. He has written and illustrated more than 50 books for children, including collaborations with other artists and authors.

Acclaimed painter Laura Dronzek’s expressive paintings grace the pages of “Winter is Here,” while Henkes’ writing style introduces basic concepts of language that underscore the beauty and wonder of the winter season in a way that children can understand, relate to and learn from.

My daughter-in-law, Jasmine Competillo, and I took my grandchildren to the story walk recently. Juliette, who is in second grade, took great delight in reading most of it herself. Reid is in kindergarten and enjoyed both the story and the slipping, sliding and running in the snow in between stations.

“It’s cool that we can read a book and be outside at the same time,” Juliette said.

Reid said, “That was lots of fun!”

Recognizing that not all children, parents or caregivers are physically able to take on the story walk, the Groton Public Library still has ways for books to be enjoyed. Borrow books to bring home to read or find a virtual story time video every Friday at 11 a.m. on the GPL Facebook Page.

Groton on the Inside appears weekly. Submit news ideas to Linda Competillo, lmc10@cornell.edu or 607-227-4922.

In brief:

Winter resources

Are you finding it even more difficult to make ends meet this winter? The Groton Food Pantry can assist with food every Monday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Pre-register by contacting Jess Stone at (607) 592-4825 or grotonfoodproviders18@outlook.com.

The Groton Public Library hosts Healthy Tuesdays with free food from 12:30 to 2 p.m. No registration is required.

The Foodbank of the Southern Tier has a drive-thru giveaway on the first Thursday of the month at the C.R. Pavilion on Main Street. Each family can receive up to 100 pounds of food including meat, dairy and produce. Registration required at foodbankst.org beginning at 8 a.m. the Wednesday before the giveaway.

Catholic Charities can help with the SNAP application, which is a monthly supplement to help with groceries. Catholic Charities can also help with clothing, household goods, employment searches and more. The Tompkins County coordinator is Liz Balog, who can be reached at (607) 272-5062, ext. 21. It is free and confidential.

Operation Soup Pot

Jane Marie Law is organizing “Operation Soup Pot Love” for Tompkins and Cortland counties.

Soup pots will be filled with spices and cooking oil and distributed to members of our community who need help getting the materials and know-how to make soup for themselves, their families and their community.

Weekly recipes for “soup of the week,” using seasonal ingredients, cooking lessons as requested and weekly ingredients will be given once supplies are obtained.

Stage one involves gathering the needed supplies, which can be dropped off at the Groton Public Library during business hours. Label donations “Operation Soup Pot.”

In this phase, donations of the following are needed: soup pots in good working condition, large enough for a big batch of soup with a heavy bottom; a lid that fits and does not have Teflon or other chemical “nonstick” inside of it; crockpots; spices (new in jars) such as cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, parsley flakes, black pepper, thyme, basil, chili pepper and red pepper flakes; bottles of cooking oil such as canola, corn, vegetable, olive, safflower, sunflower and peanut; and cutting boards.