On Monday 28th November at Tramore Library, Ciara Conway, T.D., launched Wiggly Woo agus a Cháirde, a brand new rhyme book made by very young children and their parents through a series of workshops with an artist and a musician.
The book was the culmination of an ongoing project with Waterford County Library involving 3-4 year olds as part of Kids’ Own’s Travelling Library project.
The workshops which took place in four libraries across Waterford in early 2011, were delivered by Kids’ Own (a national children’s arts organisation and publishing house), in partnership with Waterford County Library Service and Waterford County Childcare Committee.
The workshops aimed to engage early years children and their parents in a unique process of play, song and artwork to explore the benefits of creative play and family learning on early childhood development and learning. Orla Kenny, Creative Director of Kids’ Own – who secured the funding for the project through the Arts Council Touring Award, says “this is a very special project, which has demonstrated the incredible imagination and creative capacity of three-year olds.”
As part of the project, Kids’ Own also conducted preliminary research, which explored the extent to which the workshops supported children’s creativity and their acquisition of essential literary skills. Kenny continued by saying “a unique quality of the workshops was the way in which the children were supported to lead the process, and given the freedom to take charge creatively. This allowed them to work at their own pace, which is very important at this stage of their development.”
The book launch which took place at Tramore Library was preceded by a seminar for artists and childcare professionals working with early years children. The seminar included presentations by those who were involved in the project, as well as by Catherine Hynes from the Early Years Education Policy Unit, who shared an overview of the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People, 2011-2020.
The County Library Service were delighted to be involved in the project, which fed into the development of their new Reading Strategy, called Rearing To Go.
Following the success of this interagency partnership, a second phase of the project will begin in January 2012, this time across Waterford County and City.
Wiggly Woo agus a Cháirde is now available in libraries – great for parents and 3-4 year olds!
For more information visit http://www.kidsown.ie/projects/wiggly-woo/ or contact Kids’ Own Publishing Partnership: info@kidsown.ie or 0719124945.
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