Neighborhood North’s literacy efforts bring hands-on learning to unexpected spots in the Beaver County region

Neighborhood North Museum of Play offers a joyful fusion of fun and hands-on learning to families in the Beaver-Butler-Lawrence County area. Now drawing visitors from 86 different zip codes, the museum has doubled their staff in recent years.

They’ve trained those staff members in maker-based learning, with the goal of “creating opportunities for parents to learn together with their kids,” says executive director Christine Kroger.

“How can we really invest in early learning,” Kroger asks, “and all the way up through middle school and workforce preparedness? We’re thinking about that trajectory of what does it mean to be a lifelong learner? Where does that begin?”

One key answer: Focusing on early literacy to create a solid learning foundation for all kids. 

Literacy is a vital skill that supports every kinds of learning. Kroger and her team eager to reach early learners and meet their busy parents exactly where they are. 

Currently housed in a beautiful but small former bank building, the museum is redeveloping the former Tribune newspaper building near the Beaver Falls public library. But until that 18,000-square-foot space becomes Neighborhood North’s new home (likely in 2029), outreach into the community is a priority. 

So Kroger was excited to partner with the Clinton Foundation’s Too Small to Fail initiative. The folks at Too Small to Fail are experts in activating learning in communities. They help Neighborhood North to bring literacy resources to local families wherever they might be. 

This work began with a question: Where are people in the Beaver Falls area spending time with their kids? One answer: the local McDonald’s.

So Neighborhood North partnered with Too Small to Fail to create a “literacy corner,” offering a table with books for early learners. They also posted colorful signage by the diaper changing table in the restroom, sharing information about building literacy skills, along with prompts for parents.

“When people were waiting to get their food, they would just look through the books and then take them if they wanted them,” Kroger explains.

For a time, the project also included a free book included with each Happy Meal, along with useful information about learning milestones.

Some families might not give that milestone information much thought, Kroger says. But “if one-third of the parents, or even a quarter of the parents even looked at it, just to see, ‘Hey, my kid’s actually not doing this.’ Or, ‘Oh, they’re on track,’ that could be a conversation starter with a teacher.”

Just as valuable, the McDonald’s staff was trained to talk with customers about the value of talking, singing and reading with kids and share about the resources that were available to customers.

A key message that Too Small to Fail shares is this: “Talking is teaching.”

When a parent is scrolling on a smartphone or otherwise distracted, they can miss out on opportunities to talk with their child and help that child build literacy and knowledge. So it’s important to encourage parents to talk, read and sing with kids of all ages, including babies.

The Too Small to Fail team has found that by training people to share this useful message, the understanding of literacy can grow within a community. So training the McDonald’s staff was a key step in making sure this project would have an impact.

GROWING THIS WORK
That project went so well that the Neighborhood North team began developing additional literacy spaces around the Beaver County area. And the McDonald’s owners looked at how to bring these same kinds of learning experiences to their other restaurant locations.

Among Neighborhood North’s additional partners: a community space that operates as a church on Sundays and has other uses Monday through Saturday. They’ve also added literacy spaces at a pediatrician’s office in downtown Beaver Falls, which mainly serves low-income families, and at a laundromat in Aliquippa.

Now, yet another laundromat is adding a literacy corner. The soon-to-open Keepin’ It Clean Laundry in downtown Beaver Falls has partnered with Neighborhood North and the local library to create a cozy space where kids can read, play, and learn while parents are doing laundry. Perhaps the best part: Kids will be welcome to take home books they’re enjoying. 

As these comfortable, appealing areas pop up, each is unique. There wasn’t a lot of room available at the McDonald’s, for example, so their literacy corner was relatively small. But it was strategically located, so families could look through books while waiting for their food. And even the smallest spaces are intentionally designed to include colorful signage that attracts people.

At the laundromats, a cozy, kid-sized sofa on a little rug may be tucked next to a small bookshelf where little ones can choose from a selection of Scholastic books. Nearby, a magnetic board with letters on it allows even the smallest kids to experiment with making words.

The space at the pediatrician’s office is more ample, so it includes a big, colorful artificial tree attached to a wall, where books are lined up, ready to be enjoyed as children wait for their appointments.

No matter the details, though, one thing is consistent: These spaces don’t cost a huge amount to create, but they can have a powerful impact.

“These are just little shifts, right?” says Kroger. But by creating simple, accessible spaces for reading and talking with young kids, she says, “you’re building a culture in your community.”