Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences
Active parents have active children and physical activity is a key component to chronic disease prevention. Anne Ferguson, a chronic disease specialist, often found parents sitting on the sidelines while children participated in activities. She developed the StoryWalk Project, an activity in which parents had to be as active as the children. Her idea was to take pages from a childrens picture book, attach each to a stake and line them up along a path for people to read and enjoy. Her project idea has spread across the nation and continues to grow.
StoryWalks are fun and can be an educational family activity provided within communities. Participating in a Story-Walk not only provides an opportunity for physical activity but also time outside, family time, building relationships, and promoting reading literacy with children.
This summer, the Southwind Extension District will be setting up StoryWalks with childrens stories about money management. Children begin to learn about money and its use from their parents and caregivers by watching them earn, shop, save and borrow. Having experiences with money is important to develop financial literacy.
Financial literacy is defined as a persons ability to recognize and use money and other resources he or she has to get what is needed and wanted.
Each childs story includes several financial concepts such as allocating resources, decision making, goal setting, prioritizing, positive interaction, problem solving, recognizing resources, recognizing success and saving. Building financial literacy enables youth to understand the building blocks for managing and growing money (earning, saving, investing, spending, borrowing, and protecting against risk), and be prepared as adults.
Reading books with children is a creative way to learn about the many sides of money management. When parents read about money with their children and talk about what they are reading, they help their children learn how to use and manage it.
To assist parents with what to think and talk about, a parents guide with discussion questions is available for each book. It is easier to talk about Brother and Sister Bears careless spending, in The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Money by Stan and Jan Berenstain, and their trials and errors in earning and using money sensibly. After a family talks about what others could and should do, they can use some of the ideas in their own families.
For additional information and StoryWalk locations, contact the Southwind Extension District, Fort Scott office 620-223-3720. Our website is http://www.south-wind.ksu.edu or follow us on Facebook: South-wind Extension District.
