This October was the launch of Barb’s Books at the Hutcherson Early Learning Center. Barb’s Books is a non-profit book exchange for children who are just beginning school. The motive is to develop literacy awareness and to develop a lifelong love of reading.
Throughout the morning, students participated in a variety of activities that included crafts and games, and ended with a selection of their first Barb’s Book.
The program is directed and run by family members of the late Barbara Parks, after whom the program is named. Ms. Parks worked for Lynchburg City Schools for more than 50 years as a teacher, principal, parent resource coordinator, and pre-k coordinator. She was an advocate for all children, especially for those entering school for the first time. According to program organizers, the purpose of this initiative is to provide free books to preschool children in Lynchburg City Schools to encourage the building of a personal library, to develop literacy awareness, and to foster a lifelong love of reading. This service is at no cost for Lynchburg City Schools.
The ultimate goal of this program is to create a book exchange for LCS pre-school students division wide.