Park School Students and Families Dance, Tell Stories, Learn Together at Interactive Saturdays

From dancing and storytelling to crafts and board games, Park School has been a hub of activity on Saturdays this school year.

The school has held six Interactive Saturdays, and the seventh and final one is scheduled from 10-11:30 a.m. Feb. 25.

On one Saturday in December, children played a game based on “The Tortoise and the Hare,” retold the story and created a prop. In late January, families participated in “Reader’s Theater for the Teeny Tiny Readers,” a workshop about telling a story through dramatization.

“We’re pleased to provide these Saturday events and thrilled that so many children and families have participated,” said Nancy de la Cruz-Arroyo, Park’s supervisor of funded programs and early childhood support.

The Feb. 25 event will feature storyteller Bill Gordh, an adjunct faculty member at the Jacob Burns Film Center. Mr. Gordh worked with the Burns to create the “Seeing Stories” curriculum, which is taught at Park and fosters early literacy through storytelling and media.

Parent Kelly Milano, who has twin daughters in pre-kindergarten, said her family loves attending Interactive Saturdays. “I feel so strongly that it is such a great program,” she said. “You see the other families and kids and it’s a learning and social environment that brings everybody together.”

At the most recent one they attended, people from Theater O in Ossining taught the children about acting voices, getting out of their comfort zone and using movement and voice to help do that, Ms. Milano said. They also enjoyed the Interactive Saturday with Teatown educators, who taught families about how animals handle snow and cold weather.

“Interactive Saturdays are another way the school is trying to help everyone in the community,” she said.

In the spring, Park School is sponsoring three Saturday events that focus on the Hudson River. They will be held in Louis Engel Waterfront Park and feature crafts, storytelling and other activities.