Library story time is also learning time for parents

At a dragon-themed story time at the Jervis Public Library in Rome, New York, children make paper “breathing buddies” designed to help calm their fire-breathing feelings. Some decorate dragon eggs that have a small toy dragon inside. A few feet away, parents and grandparents learn how the activities help the children build their fine motor skills.

“Those are needed so they can write and help build their literacy skills in school later on,” said Courtney Jones, family development administrator for Cornell Cooperative Extension Oneida County.

This is the Library Connection Project, which brings parenting education usually offered at Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) offices to the places where families already go.

The idea came from Kim Kopko, director of The Parenting Project at the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, which supports CCE parent educators with research-based training and tools to help strengthen families across New York. She saw a similar model while working in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“In day care centers, playgrounds, apartment buildings — wherever parents were, there was a parent specialist who parents could consult with on parenting questions or needs,” Kopko said.

She and Sharon Tennyson, a professor in the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy, decided to replicate the model in collaboration with CCE parent educators and community partners. They partnered with the Child Care Council, part of CCE Oneida County, and the Mid-York Library System to launch the Library Connection Project in libraries across Oneida, Madison and Herkimer counties in 2024.

This project builds on an earlier partnership between Kopko and Tennyson that connected a CCE association with a rural school, by embedding a parent education specialist in a school-based health center. Both fall under what Kopko calls a “portable parenting” model.

“It’s taking educators and putting them where families already are,” Kopko said. “That’s a throughline for the projects that Sharon and I have done.”

A woman in a red shirt and grey sweater reads a story to kids.

Casey Winter, from CCE Oneida, reads a story to children at Jervis Public Library in Rome, N.Y. (Photo credit: Juan Vazquez-Leddon)

Children are at a table coloring cups with markers, one step to making 'breathing buddies.'

Children attending the story time event at Jervis Public Library in Rome, N.Y. color paper cups, one step to creating a 'breathing buddy.' (Photo credit: Juan Vazquez-Leddon)

A child in a blue shirt demonstrates how to use a 'breathing buddy' which resembles a dragon breathing fire when used.

A child at the Jervis Public Library in Rome, N.Y. showing how a 'breathing buddy' is used, which resembles a dragon breathing fire. The item is used to help children control their 'fire-breathing' emotions. (Photo credit: Juan Vazquez-Leddon)

A close-up of the pink and yellow markers a child is using to color their cup.

A close-up look at how a 'breathing buddy' is being designed by one child at the Jervis Public Library in Rome, N.Y. To the left is a decorated dragon egg complete with a blue dragon figurine. (Photo credit: Juan Vazquez-Leddon)

Activities and resources translate parenting and child development research

The Oct. 9 event followed the format Child Care Council staff use at each story time. It opened with a reading of “Don’t Wake the Dragon,” by Bianca Schulze. Then children moved to activity stations themed around the book. Staff answered questions on parenting and child development and handed out tip sheets on fine motor skills, matching the day’s activities.

At an earlier dinosaur-themed session, Jones said children shoveled through ice and sand in a “dino dig,” and adults took home a tip sheet on the benefits of messy play. Other tip sheets cover brain development, the importance of reading, prepping for school and potty training. Some of the tip sheets were created by a Cornell Human Ecology summer intern who worked on The Parenting Project in placement with the Library Connection Project.

An adult wearing a black hoodie with a blue shirt is helping a child in a black shirt make a bracelet.

Kristen Obreza, from CCE Onieda, helps a child create a bracelet during a story time event at the Jervis Public Library in Rome, N.Y. (Photo credit: Juan Vazquez-Leddon)

A child in a purple jacket puts a gold dragon figurine in a decorated plastic egg.

A child puts a gold dragon figurine into a plastic dragon egg they decorated during a story time event at the Jervis Public Library in Rome, N.Y. (Photo credit: Juan Vazquez-Leddon)

An adults is at a table helping children make bracelets with wire and beads.

Kristen Obreza (center), from CCE Oneida, makes a bracelet along with children who attended the story time event at the Jervis Public Library in Rome, N.Y. (Photo credit: Juan Vazquez-Leddon)

A child shows off a beaded bracelet they made to an adult.

A child displays the bracelet they made to an adult during the story time event at Jervis Public Library in Rome, N.Y. (Photo credit: Juan Vazquez-Leddon)

“Portable parenting” model enables researchers to support more caregivers

Jones said mothers usually attend, but grandparents who help raise children often come too.

“They’ll ask questions like, ‘Mom is struggling. How can we help?’” Jones said. “It’s important because they’re watching the kids, and so much in parenting has changed since the last time they raised a child. Cultural and educational practices have shifted.”

Since it launched, the Library Connection Project has reached more than 800 children and 600 adults across the three-county region. Kopko said she hopes the program can expand to more communities across the state.

Lisa Matte, director of the Jervis Public Library, said it’s one of the programs patrons look forward to most.

“Courtney and her team truly offer something for everyone in our community, and we're so grateful for the work that they do,” Matte said. “This partnership is gaining momentum; we're excited about what could happen next.”

The Parenting Project has funded the Library Connection Project through a three-year Smith-Lever Act capacity grant.