Head Start/Early Head Start of Fayette County Hosts Barnyard of Books Parent Engagement Event

Families enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start of Fayette County were invited to “Barnyard of Books” held at the Uniontown Mall on November 20, 2024. This literacy event’s activities were planned around the program’s school readiness goals. The theme of the event was to focus on literacy through farm themed activities. Our goal was to introduce families to as many barnyard themed books as possible and how they can interact with their child through an activity that went along with the book. Prior to the event, families were provided with an in-kind activity to make a replica of a farm if their family would live on the farm. They could include things like what their barn would look like, what animals they would have on the farm, and even what crops they would grow. The families all did a great job with this project as their creativity ran wild!

One hundred and ten HS/EHS staff members were present and eager to support families as they made their way through the activities. Families were greeted by staff at the doors with a farm themed headband for them to wear. The families were then able to participate in various activities. The activities included corn and bean sensory bins, infant discovery area, ring toss, making a farm animal puppet, gross motor farm action cards, counting animals on the farm, paper plate lacing, literacy letter match, bean bag toss, paper plate roosters, cardboard box tractor ride, duck on a tricycle course, shape tractors, three little pig house building, farm animal bingo, fruit market color matching, pattern blocks, counting cubes, playdough, and other various counting activities. Each activity was based off a farm themed story book. The books that were featured for the activities were: The Little Red Hen, Sheep in a Jeep, Pete the Cat Old MacDonald Had a Farm, Otis, The Farm That Feeds Us, Duck on a Bike, Down by the Barn, Counting Animals on the Farm, Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type, Charlotte’s Web, Big Red Barn, Barnyard Boogie, Barnyard Banter, Amara’s Farm, Harvesting Friends, Anywhere Farm, and Little Blue Truck. Our School Nurses were on site to share information about proper tooth brushing where children were able to brush the teeth of a giraffe and shark as a demonstration. Lastly, families were offered a light refreshment of berry fruit salad, trail mix, various fresh vegetables and dip, pumpkin fluff dip, various fresh fruits, various meats and cheeses, flavored milk donated by United Dairy, and water. The families were provided a bag upon leaving the event that included two books (The Farm That Feeds Us and Counting Animals on the Farm), a wooden cube puzzle, wooden puzzle, farm themed drawstring bag, and a farm animal stuffed animal.

We were joined by several community agencies at The Barnyard of Books. The Private Industry Council’s Youth programs, Dads Matter, and ETI were present, along with a representative from PA CareerLink. Fayette County Behavioral Health, Fayette County Community Action, Imagination Library from the Uniontown Library, WQED/PBS, and the United Way of Southwestern PA also joined in for the event.

In attendance were 123 families; 152 adults, 99 Head Start children, 50 Early Head Start children, and 77 siblings. There were also 5 families that attended that were shopping in the mall. Feedback from the families, included statements from parents such as “Loved it!” “Very Well Organized” “We will come to all events,” “Have more of these,” and “Everyone was so nice and helpful.”