A picnic with teddy bears
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 20, 2018 5:50 AM
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Children from Small World Daycare and Learning Center play with sidewalk chalk during the Teddy Bear Picnic Wednesday at Cornerstone Commons.
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Mariah Hill, 4, blows bubbles at one of the stations set up in Cornerstone Commons Wednesday during the Teddybear Picnic.
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Omari Flanagan, 4, shares a bag of pretzels with his Paw Patrol stuffed animal during the annual Teddy Bear Picnic at Cornerstone Commons Wednesday. Damiel's class from the School Street Early Learning Center was among several pre-schools to attend the event.
Daniela Alvarez carefully chose chalk colors for her rendering of a rainbow on the brick pathway that makes up Cornerstone Commons in downtown Goldsboro on Wednesday morning.
Her mom, Mayra Alvarez, held up her smartphone to capture the moment, taking a selfie.
"It's a beautiful day and she came with her classmates from Carver Elementary," Mayra said of her 4-year-old's interest in the Teddy Bear Picnic.
Preschoolers from child care centers around the county attended the event, sponsored by the Partnership for Children of Wayne County.
The annual event focuses on the educational significance of the first 2,000 days from birth to the start of kindergarten.
Valerie Wallace, assistant executive director of the Partnership, estimated this about the seventh year for the occasion.
"We do it in conjunction with the 'Week of the Young Child' and also in conjunction with Safe Kids, to promote pedestrian safety," she said. "We have had more participation over the years.
"There are a lot of the same facilities that continue to come every year but we have had more parents participate, too."
It is done in collaboration with the library, which provided a reading station for kids to sit and listen for a makeshift story time, as well as a "gross motor area" for them to engage in physical activities.
Local law enforcement as well as entities like Sidney's Book Club also supported the effort, she said.
"Kids are getting a book to take home and a stuffed animal to take home," Wallace said. "They're able to plant a plant to take home."
She estimated attendance at close to 300 this year, according to registration received.
It's just a fun day to celebrate children, she added.
Looking out over the grassy field between Cobblestone Commons and the fire station, Safe Kids coordinator Shelly Willis pointed out the different activities for children to "get their energy out" and run and play.
"We have hula hoops, balance walking, a tunnel crawl, parachute, skip-its," she said. "It's just kind of about the free-flowing -- they'll just run and play, which we know now is how they learn."
The child care teachers know about the importance of asking questions and engaging in conversation, even through play, Willis said, and can be easily put into practice by parents.
"They can talk about the color of the hula hoops or the shape," she said. "There are things they can do at home, everyday fun and materials that they already have."
Crystal Varker of the Partnership was a "floater" of sorts, pitching in where needed and watching children on the obstacle course in the gross motor skills area.
"Most of the children are used to doing this on their own playground. For the most part I'm just supervising," she said.
Observing preschoolers letting loose and taking advantage of the opportunities was fun for Varker, too, she said. She thought a moment before narrowing down one of the highlights she witnessed.
"Probably seeing the kids when they get their books," she said.
"They're really excited because not all of them have the opportunity to have books."