"Born Learning" signs to be added to North Beach trail

Orcas Family Connections and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) will soon launch the “Orcas Born Learning Trail” to promote early childhood learning and family fun.

The Born Learning Trail is a series of learning activities that any adult can play with young children.

Based on the latest early childhood research, the trail is designed to help adults interact with children to boost language and literacy development and to help caregivers understand how to best support early learning in outdoor everyday moments.

Signs will be placed on 4″ by 4″ pressure-treated posts; sponsor signs will be placed beneath each trail sign to prominently display the sponsor’s name and location.

Trail organizers are currently working to get County approval to place the signs along North Beach Road starting at the FunHouse and continuing north up the road to the public beach.

The trail signs include:
— Watch! Stop! Learn! Play! Encourages the caregiver to follow the child’s lead, building the child’s curiosity and confidence, and reinforce learning.
— Look! Learn! Laugh! Encourages caregivers to pay attention to children in positive ways, building self-esteem.
— Talk! Listen! Sing! Encourages talking and singing with children, building language and pre-literacy skills critical to reading.
— See! Say! Point! Read! Encourages playfulness with letters and sounds, building pre-literacy skills.
— Imagine! Create! Pretend! Encourages interactive storytelling, building a child’s ability to imagine and listen.
— Jump! Clap! Skip! Move! Encourages physical activity and gross motor skills
— Hop! Toss! Shake! Wiggle! Gets children’s brains and bodies moving, building fine and gross motor skills.
— Describe! Compare! Learn! Encourages children to think in ways that build readiness for reading and math.
— Look! Listen! Touch! Think! Encourages exploration of nature, building a child’s problem solving skills.