If a parent visits Stephen F. Austin State University’s campus and needs to occupy their child while filling out forms, meeting with university officials or touring facilities, they’ll have a bit of help from the James I. Perkins College of Education.
Dr. Heather Olson Beal, professor in the Department of Education Studies, had her students create 45 book-based activity kits that are available on the first floor of the Steen Library next to the front desk.
Created with assistance from research librarian Tina Oswald, the kits include things like coloring sheets, word games and scissors for cutouts. Also included in each kit is a QR code that links to fun digital activities for children. Appropriate for children ages 2 to 12 years old, each kit is associated with a specific book in the campus curriculum library.
“Partnering with the library on this project enabled my students to have a real-life, hands-on learning experience,” Beal said. “We hope children who visit our campus with their families will enjoy spending a few minutes with a book while in the library and will have fun taking the kits home to continue engaging with the book topics afterward.”
For now, the kits are in use on a pilot basis. If they gain traction in the coming months, however, Beal’s students will make more. The kits are part of a larger family-friendly initiative Beal is working on with SFA’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
