'Tell me a Story' encourages imaginations

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Ali Flisek
  • 1st Special Operations Wing
Military families gathered at the Eglin Air Force Base Youth Center, Saturday for "Tell Me a Story," a program geared toward the military child to improve literary skills.

The Tell Me a Story project uses a wordless book that encourages children to use their imaginations and improve their language skills. The book was written by the Military Child Education Coalition, a non-profit world-wide organization, whose primary mission is to identify the challenges that face the highly mobile military child and strengthen the resilience of young children and their families.

Eglin is the first of 12 military bases to host the program specifically designed for military children under four years old. The book not only stimulates the imagination, but also helps to open discussions on potentially difficult topics such as family separation, deployment, grief, moving and fitting in or being different.

"The wordless book we use is specifically geared toward the military child," said Stacye Parry, an administrative assistant of parent programs for the MCEC. "Virtually every picture in the book has some relation to military families."

The kick-off event was held in an auditorium with several different stations. Each station had a facilitator, who is particularly trained to encourage the children to come up with their own stories associated with the pictures in the book. They also give parents tips on how they can use everyday items in their homes to teach their children skills such as counting and separating by colors.

At one station, children and parents are seated in front of poster boards with pictures. The facilitator asks "Who is this person?" pointing to a man in fatigues, holding a letter and smiling. Almost all the children answer at once "It's a daddy!"

"It's all about communication and connecting," said Colleen Lagasse, a consultation specialist for Military projects with the Zero to Three Project, a non-profit organization supporting the development and well-being of infants, toddlers and their families.

"This is a great program, not only for my child but for me as well," said Dawn Whitson, who brought her two year old daughter, Natalie, to the event.

If you are interested in learning more about Tell Me a Story and tips on improving your child's literary skills visit www.militarychild.org. Visit  www.zerotothree.org for tools to help you and your child with the stress and demands of a military lifestyle.