Walk brings families together

Children and their families had a chance to get closer to nature and each other during a Head Start-sponsored activity Saturday morning.

Head Start and its 1825 Club hosted an autumn nature walk on Expedition Island. According to Erin Barbuto, the family and community partnership manager for Head Start, the nature walk gives children a chance to participate in a scavenger hunt for various things children may see, hear, smell and touch. A sheet of paper listing items such as the wind, sand, birds, pine trees and fish, were held by the children as they and their parents marked off what they found. Barbuto said the nature walk helps children with their literacy, saying while the children are too young to read, the activity helps them develop skills to build their literacy.

However, Barbuto said giving a chance for a child to spend time with their family is the other major goal for the activity. The 1825 Club co-hosting the program is a Head Start group which encourages men to become more involved with children and their education. Barbuto said the club is open to either Head Start students’ fathers or father figures and is named after the number of days between birth and a child’s fifth birthday.