Today on Education Counts Michiana, SB Ready at the St. Joe County Public Library, Special Outdoor Leisure Opportunities STEM with a Story in Middlebury, The Outlet Youth Center in Rochester.

Education Counts Michiana is underwritten by Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.

Investing in education and economic development for centuries, supporting the past, current, and future development of the Michiana region.

Community Foundation of Elkhart County Inspire Good.

Kosciusko County Community Foundation, Where Donor Dreams Shine.

The Dekko Foundation Community Foundation of Saint Joseph County Crossroads United Way, serving Elkhart, Lagrange, and Noble Counties.

United Way of Saint Joseph County.

Marshall County Community Foundation.

Ready to Grow St. Joe Early Childhood Coalition and a Gift by Elmer and Dolores Teppe.

Thank you.

Welcome to Education Counts Michiana.

I'm your host Sam Centellas.

Education Counts highlights programs and initiatives that are impacting how we teach, how we learn, and how we embrace education.

This program explores ideas in all education sectors.

Preschool through lifelong learning, K-12, post-high school and job advancement training with the philosophy that we should never stop seeking knowledge.

Find additional resources at WNIT.org And on the Education Counts Facebook page First up, fueling imaginations.

SB Ready is a partnership between the St. Joseph County Public Library and schools in South Bend.

Kindergarten and first grade students visit the library to receive free library cards, check out a book and take part in reading and play-based learning activities.

The partnership encourages early literacy development, inspires curiosity, and empowers young readers.

Kristen Franklin Videographer.

Greg Banks, Editor.

Okay.

Let's have you through... You in the blue shirt.

He was standing here.

You guys are ready to explore.

We are going to take a walk.

It's just a few steps.

Walk this way.

This is what we call the SB Ready Partnership.

It is a early literacy partnership between the SJCPL St. Joe County Public Library and the South Bend schools, both SBC and SBEZ.

It was founded about a couple of years ago.

This is our second year of doing it and it, It incorporates a kindergarten library tour.

We're here because of a collaboration with the St. Joe County Public Library and the wonderful people at the library here who started a program and initiated it last year to have kindergarten and I believe now first grade students come and they get we give a tour of the library.

They get to explore in the wonderful play areas, and then they get their very own library card and get to check out a book and get full exposure to the library in hopes that they'll return with their families and check out more books in the future.

Our kindergarten tours have three different parts.

We can have a little circuit going on.

The first stop is they get the chance to get a tour of the library, not just not the whole library, but the children's area of the place where they will ideally be spending the majority of their time.

It ends with them getting their own library card and allows them to check out a book.

So that's really exciting.

The next station is a play opportunity.

We have a really exciting interactive play space here at the library because we know that play is integral to early literacy development.

So they get the chance to play in tiny town and explore all the different rooms that are a part of it.

So if you haven't been here, please come by.

It's so much fun.

We also then have them move into the story house, which is where we have one of our branch children's librarians do a storytime.

And this ideally is the branch librarian that did an outreach visit with them in the fall.

So they have that chance to build that relationship with their previous children's librarian.

And that's the whole circuit.

They have a wonderful time and we find that children really enjoy that opportunity.

And then I see something on shelves.

Do you see something on shelves?

More books!

This partnership is really geared towards making sure that we get books in the hands of children at the earliest age possible.

We know that early literacy starts at birth, so the earlier that we can get to little ones and provide them with these resources, the better opportunities they will have when they enter school.

Hey, remember how we talk about it's a pretend story or if it's a real story?

It's so important because pre-reading skills are looking at a book, looking at the pictures.

Try to find the sight words, you know, being able to point to the words and just having a book in their hand is important.

And I think we discussed last year when they were here that a lot of kids had been here with their families to play games.

They've gone straight to like the computers or did those sort of games, but they weren't necessarily here to check out books or to do some other things.

So just and in collaboration with the school and here, then we can kind of reinforce back and forth why it's so important that they should have a book and come here with their family and establish that routine and hopefully establish a love for reading as they're learning to read this year.

Outside of the partnership, we also have opportunities for them to engage in STEAM activities - science, technology engineering, art and math.

And we really want to say that at the library.

We're not just here to talk about literacy, but also to share other learning opportunities as well.

So we have a STEAM corner that's here for families to use any time.

We also have a lot of programs related to STEAM.

That's a very big partnership that we have, or a very big passion that we have as a library.

We also have opportunities for them to check out books, but this is a really great place for families to come together to meet one another and to enjoy the time together, along with the literacy learning that we have in the center.

I want them to know that it's a welcoming place, that they're always welcome here to bring their to bring their entire family to maybe talk to their younger siblings about the love of reading and get them interested in it and know, just like we go to the library at school, that this is a public facility that they can take advantage of whenever their parents obviously, they can't drive themselves, but whenever their parents can drive them here, then they can take advantage of all the library has to offer.

She was helpful, check!

And she was a book lover, check!

So they absolutely love this partnership.

We actually had someone yesterday saying, this is my favorite partnership that we have at the school.

And that's so wonderful to hear because not only are we providing them with this fun field trip opportunity, the goal is for them to take this library card, have them use it often, and have them become lifelong learners through their connection with the library.

Learn more about SB Ready at WNIT.org Teaching body movement.

Special Outdoor Leisure Opportunities, or SOLO, provides educational and recreational opportunities in the winter for community members with special needs and disabilities.

The program offers downhill and cross-country skiing sessions in which volunteers help students learn movement skills.

Participants experience the wonders of nature, build confidence and make new friends.

Segment produced by Nathan Krebs.

My parents never thought I could We never thought that I could ski.

But then we found SOLO And they have special equipment that allows people with special needs to ski.

So I ski, I ski, and in fact, my whole family went to Boyne mountain and we skied as a family thanks to SOLO.

SOLO is a grassroots organization, nonprofit.

It's been around for 40 plus years, and we ski with people with intellectual disabilities, both cross-country skiing here at Rum Village Park and downhill skiing at Swiss Valley.

A lot of individuals, if they don't live with their families, live in group homes, and they don't get to do this kind of stuff when they join us, usually they have to be about eight.

And we encourage the family to join them so that they can ski and they're allowed to borrow our equipment.

We fit them up with skis or snowshoes.

It's just a chance for them to have outdoor experiences in the winter.

I enjoy getting the exercise and just being out with nature, and just having fun in the snow.

I, I do both.

This is actually, one of my first times doing cross-country.

I usually do downhill on Monday nights at Swiss Valley.

And I ski with my dad.

He's a volunteer.

And we just have fun together.

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, we're we're a group of friends here, and so you're connecting your volunteer one on one, working with somebody.

These are group lessons.

These are one and one.

Sometimes we have a couple of volunteers working with the student, depending on what the needs are.

So it is, there's a real human connection because I've got to relate to you what I'm doing with my body.

You know what?

What you need to do with your body.

So we have to learn how to interact.

And sometimes it takes a different form of of teaching.

Every year, there's new volunteers that come from different organizations.

And we get, I get to know, know them and we just have fun together.

It is such a great program, it's we try and, and we have a lot of people who support us and talk it up.

So that's how we get the new volunteers that one of the people who was with us as a high school student is now continuing with us as a student at Notre Dame.

And she recruited two other students to join us.

So that's one of the other really cool things that happens.

To people who want to volunteer.

I often say bring your patience and your sense of humor, because sometimes it takes a while.

It just depends on where that person is at.

And some people pick pick up the skills quickly and boy, you see progress right away on on day one and other people.

It takes it's more week by week.

And right when you finally see that That that skill that they're starting to do something that you've been trying to teach them to do.

Wow.

you're so excited.

You want to give a high five and celebrate that.

If you've never skied, and you want to have fun with somebody to ski, then you should sign up for SOLO.

Learn more about the program at WNIT.org Hands on science.

The Middlebury Public Library hosts STEM with a Story events for kindergarten and elementary school students.

The events feature a read aloud story and a STEM experience that builds on the theme of the book.

The combination of reading aloud and a hands on learning helps students engage in STEM subjects and understand our world.

Videographer Kristen Franklin, Editor Greg Banks.

Six more weeks of winter will come if he sees a shadow.

Spring is coming.

If he is not.

Another name for a groundhog as a woodchuck.

Groundhog Day is mostly celebrated in the US.

Some states have their own traditions.

So every first Saturday of the month I lead a 45 minute program that focuses on sort of concepts of STEM for early education and pairs it with stories for literacy based on what's going on like nationally or if there's a holiday.

So, for example, we did Groundhog Day because today's the third.

The animals watched helplessly as the groundhog went back into his hole.

Wait, you said!

We've read a couple of different stories.

We read Snow Rabbits Spring Rabbit, which is about sort of the hibernation route that a rabbit goes through.

We read an early reader story about the origin of Groundhog Day, and then we also read about different animals trying to get a groundhog out of his burrow called Groundhugs Day because they wanted to have him at their Valentine party.

So kind of like a kid's version of the story.

What's the problem?

Moose said Tomorrow is Groundhog Day.

But he said if Groundhog sees his shadow, he'll go back into his hole for six more weeks.

Okay.

This brown paper is the ground, and this is the top, right?

This is like the top of his hole where he would go in in the grass and then there's a burrow and we're going to label it, right?

So we're going to we're going to put the places that he goes and hides.

So because he lives underground, he kind of makes it into a little underground castle with different rooms.

I think everybody needs a glue stick to make their burrow.

Yeah.

Perfect.

There we go.

Okay, you ready?

So let's make sure we get lots of glue on the back and we can turn it over.

We made burrows out of construction paper, so it was sort of looked like dirt with grass and a hole.

And then the children took magnets and paper clips and moved their magnetized paper clip throughout the burrow so they could see the way that a groundhog would move in its natural habitat.

And then they took home projects to work on where they create the burrow and list things that are necessary for groundhogs survival so they can keep learning at home.

But they have these rooms because they do wake up and get up and put it out.

In general, our national holidays and connecting that with what local schools are doing is something I try to do here at the library.

And also we have a really large home school population.

So a lot of them may be sort of not part of the social norms of celebrating holidays or being involved.

So it's important for us to sort of make sure that we touch on all of those events as well and all of those celebrations.

A long time ago, German immigrants brought that tradition to the United States and they decided to use a groundhog.

The first official Groundhog Day took place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

So our summer reading program will run in June and July this summer.

And we're having an educator in loose parts play come and do a program series for us.

So she's doing loose parts, STEM, loose parts art, and loose parts nature play So her name is Dr. Carla Goal.

So we try to bring in presenters like that who are experts and masters of their field who can offer educational opportunities for our kids.

Find out more at WNIT.org Learning to cook.

The Outlet Youth Center in Rochester hosts a weekly cooking and nutrition program for local teens.

Students from Rochester Community High School learn to cook simple and healthy meals alongside nutrition experts from Purdue Extension.

Over the course of several months, the students gain important culinary skills and knowledge that they can use later in life.

Nathan Krebs produced this segment.

We are mainly an after school program for kids six through 12th grade.

It's a very structured we pride ourselves on being a safe environment and part of what we do here is to try to connect people out in the community to our kids in here.

And through that we make relationships and make positive life influence on them, for them to take for the rest of their lives.

We do clubs every day.

We have an art club.

We have a STEM club.

We have a chess club, and we have cooking club, which we call Grub Club.

So that happens on Tuesdays where we teach the kids how to cook.

We give them community assistance.

We live in a really low income area.

So we, you know, we help kids with laundry if they need it, with groceries, with if they want to do a sport or the activity, we'll buy them those things to do it because we want them to be involved and and be healthy, happy kids.

Every week when we come, we make a snack or a small meal.

And within those lessons, then we're also talking about basic kitchen skills, knife skills, cleaning prep, safe food holding and reheating, and how to make quick, easy, nutritious meals at home.

I think a lot of kids either have had a family member do these things for them, and so then they're getting into high school and, you know, some of them don't know how to turn an oven on or, you know, how to properly hold a knife.

And when you go out into the world with your first job, instead of, you know, going to McDonald's every day for your meals, I think it's really important that they know how to cook for themselves and actually feel confident in cooking and preparing things for themselves.

Quesadillas, baked macaroni and cheese, chicken alfredo, bunch of different meals.

We start with washing our hands and then get supplies and stuff and then, cut the chicken, put the grease in the pan, and cook the chicken up.

Yeah, definitely.

It definitely helps.

Definitely teach you how to put the spices on stuff and how to do it correctly.

Making relationships with these kids is absolutely the best part.

It's part of our mission to make positive life change.

You know, we teach art things.

We teach STEM, we teach them how to cook, but we're making relationships through those things.

And that's what we're trying to do so that they can grow up to be happy, healthy people contributing to society.

We're trying to encourage proper brain connections, grow up strong so they have a support system.

You know, they'll come here and we'll have a class and we'll talk about certain things, you know, even shopping and, you know, the prep work that that that we did here.

And then, you know, it'll be a week or so before I see them again and they come back and they're all like, Mrs. Anguilm, you know, we you know, I learned how to do this.

And I showed my little brother or my little sister, and then we made this or I was reading the label and can you believe, you know, it's just so it's really it just makes me feel good that they're actually kind of taking it in and applying it.

So there's a lot of food insecurity here.

If you come in our doors, you'll see kids food guarding, you'll see them scarfing down their food really quickly.

They'll come up for second, third, fourth fifths.

So it's important that we're feeding them.

But I also like that we're teaching them how to do it at home.

At our after school program, we try to teach them to cook in ways that they can do at home.

So we may not always use an oven.

Sometimes we'll use a conventional oven, we'll use toasters, we'll use an insta pot just with simple tabletop appliances where maybe they're not allowed to use an oven or a skillet when mom and dad aren't home.

So we're trying to give them the skills that they can go out and do it at home when they need a meal to eat.

Yeah, I think this would definitely help me later on in life as I cook and, you know, grow older and live in my own house and whatnot.

I think it's pretty important considering that.

I mean, you need to know how to cook, you know, and to stay healthy instead of going to eating out all the time And yeah, I think making your own food super important and make it the a healthy way.

Find these stories and more resources at WNIT.org Building Trades Day.

Hundreds of high school students learned about construction trades programs at the Building Trades Day annual event at the University of Notre Dame.

The students participated in the hands on activities toured large scale construction sites and gained awareness about different career pathways.

Our four surrounding counties, LaPorte, Saint Joe, Elkhart, Marshall have about $9 billion of construction currently underway.

That is probably two, probably even three times the normal amount of construction that we have.

There is an unprecedented amount right now and there's infrastructure work still on the way and more projects that will mushroom out of that nine billion dollars.

There's not enough construction workers at all right now.

And so any opportunity that we can do to introduce people to the great opportunities that exists in the construction building trades.

We're all about it.

So the building trades have come a long way over the years.

Most of the trades now offer an associate's degree upon completion of a journeyship program.

And and they get a trade that they know and love.

And the money is really good these days.

The trades pay well.

So we've got about 50 plus contractors and union building trades representatives here showing off what it is that they do.

There's, I think, 16 or so stations outside where they're hands on, getting an opportunity to sort of feel it, touch it, and learn a little bit about what construction's really about So the programs that we have here today represent the entire construction industry there's 66 different vendors here that represent different contractors and actual scopes of work.

Construction work itself, from masonry to drywall to excavation to utilities to slate roofing.

It's all, they're all represented here as well.

I think the hands on stuff absolutely.

The opportunity to try something, to do it, experience it, see it.

One of the things that we talk about is pride in construction.

Whenever you build something, you can stand back and say, I built that thing.

And there's a little bit of that.

Even coming here and doing some of that hands on stuff to try it, to feel it and you stand back with a little bit of pride, you know, Hey, I did that thing.

My perception or what the students get excited about is understanding what big construction is about.

Most of the times in the high school programs that are involved in residential type construction, building homes, getting involved in construction in this aspect, they get to see commercial buildings, multimillion dollar buildings with just the trades and the craftsmanship.

That is absolutely amazing.

They also get to come here and have some fun.

The contractors brought interactive machines.

They get to actually do work and actually see what they're going to be involved with for any trade that they're interested in.

You know, it's a long term game.

Right now we're talking to high school students and trying to give them an opportunity to see what's out there beyond maybe what they've already experienced in terms of career opportunities.

So we'll do it again next year.

We may do we have some other events that we'll probably have in between that I'll get to their guidance counselors and some other people to help lead them to these kinds of events.

And it's a it's a slow process to move the needle, basically.

But we're optimistic.

And the turnout today has been fantastic.

It's more than community.

We have a national crisis of workers, workforce, building infrastructure in buildings throughout the entire United States.

We're no different here as a Saint Joe community is building, we literally, it's not just Notre Dame.

It is the entire community needs this workforce.

So this is years in the planning.

By the time students graduate from high school and go through an apprenticeship program, it could be four or five or six years down the line before we see the fruits of that labor.

We need to start now and that's what we're doing.

Check out WNIT.org for more information on all these stories.

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The success of every student matters.

Education Counts Michiana is underwritten by Pokagon Band of Potawatomi.

Investing in education and economic development for centuries, supporting the past, current, and future development of the Michiana region.

Community Foundation of Elkhart County Inspire Good.

Kosciusko County Community Foundation, Where Donor Dreams Shine.

The Dekko Foundation Community Foundation of Saint Joseph County Crossroads United Way, serving Elkhart, Lagrange, and Noble Counties.

United Way of Saint Joseph County.

Marshall County Community Foundation.

Ready to Grow St. Joe Early Childhood Coalition and a Gift by Elmer and Dolores Teppe.

Thank you.

This WNIT local production has been made possible in part by viewers like you.

Thank you.