'Story sacks' reading initiative

Parents of young pupils at Carnhill Nursery, Steelstown Primary School & Bunscoil, and St Bridget's Primary School came together for the 'Introduction to Making and Using Story Sacks for Family Learning' are now using the reading resources in the classroom and at home.

Story Sacks are a classic story which is contained within a sack, along with an accompanying non-fiction book, a related game or activity, a poem or song. Each sack also contains a set of discussion points for parents to help them share in literacy with their children.

"Time spent sharing stories with your children is vital for both their educational and emotional development" said College lecturer Doreen Fleming, who ran the accredited course in conjunction with NOCN.

"None of the ladies involved had any previous experience of creating or using these learning packs but they soon realised that they all could bring different skills to the workshops. Some were excellent seamstresses, others were skilled at Internet research for materials and there were those who knew where find resources cheaply around the town!"

Charlie McMonagle, of Steelstown Primary School was very keen to promote the project: "The aim of this scheme was to produce enough 'sacks' to create a lending library for our younger classes. They are time consuming for our teachers to create but our parents and members of SCRA (Steelstown Community Residents Association) have been willing to help , especially when they gain a certificate at the end of it! The project has been funded through the Extended Schools Project."

One mother commented, "My child loved helping me to create the Story Sack and I was able to try the little games out with him. He even made suggestions for discussion points and supplementary activities."