Lyndonville Area Foundation donates to preschooler program at library
Provided photos: The Yates Community Library has received $1,890 from the Lyndonville Area Foundation for the “Rise and Shine” reading program for preschoolers. Pictured from left include Herbert Bohnet, library trustee; Emily Cebula, library director; Michele Harling, Foundation director; Robin Boyle, teacher; Valerie Wells, Foundation member; and Megan Johnson, Foundation member.
Press Release, Lyndonville Area Foundation
LYNDONVILLE – The Yates Community Library appreciates the Lyndonville Area Foundation Grant of $1,890 to be used toward the “Rise and Shine” reading program for preschoolers.
The Foundation grant will be used to assist in a series of early literacy programs for preschoolers offered at the Yates Community Library in Lyndonville known as “Rise and Shine Reading Time.” The program has been ongoing since the fall of 2018, as presented by Robin Boyle, a retired Lyndonville kindergarten teacher with 30 years of experience.
Emily Cebula, the Yates Community Library Director for 15 years, said the goal of the project is the continued growth of the young participants in a variety of skills that will prepare them for school, and for a lifetime of reading and learning enjoyment. Social and behavioral skills, communication and literary skills, confidence in being able to form questions, listening skills, understanding of story structure and sequence and visual discrimination are developed during the course to provide a stepping stone for academic learning.
Created and conducted by Robin Boyle, it will consist of three series of six programs of 45-minutes each, presented every other week, during the fall, winter and spring of 2023-2024.
Robin Boyle is shown with several preschoolers at the Yates Community Library.
Boyle plans each session to include relevant stories, songs, art projects and group activities, such as her very popular scavenger hunts. She incorporates holidays and seasonal themes into her programs and enjoys actively participating just as much as her students do.
Boyle believes the program is successful because of the commitment that parents and caregivers make to bring the children in each week, the ability to create programs that are based on the individual needs of the preschoolers in small class settings and the support of the Yates Community Library staff.
Cebula credits the success of the program to Boyle’s experience and enthusiasm. She wrote in her application to the Foundation: “The joy of sharing books with peers, of recognizing common experiences, and surprise in discovering new adventures, is a treasure to be carried throughout one’s lifetime.”
To sign up for the program, scheduled to begin in October, please contact Cebula, the library director, at (585)765-9041. The sessions are free but space is limited. Families with children age 2, 3 and 4 who are not enrolled in Universal Pre-K, as well as and homeschoolers, are welcome. Priority is given to families living in the Yates Community Library service area, which is the Lyndonville Central School District.
