Stories-To-Go Project

Enhancing the literacy skills of children and adults is a goal of the Women's Institutes.

In 1998, our national affiliate, the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada, initiated the LINKS program; Linking Institutes and Neighbours with Knowledge and Skills. LINKS gave the members of the Women's Institutes of Nova Scotia the skills to learn how to identify literacy needs in the rural community. WINS felt that literacy issues could be promoted more easily to the rural public if we used a common theme for the project. Due to the fact that agriculture affects all our lives and that the Women's Institutes has strong connection to the industry, agriculture was the chosen theme of our Stories-To-Go Project.

What is Stories-To-Go? Stories-To-Go is a resource bag that holds a collection of learning tools and activities designed for children in grades primary through grade three. Each bag will include a good quality children's book with an agricultural theme; agricultural activity sheets; puppets; literacy activity sheets; adult guide; listing of additional resources; and many other interactive items that the child will enjoy and that the adult can use to encourage role-playing, reading and discussions about agriculture and rural life. The use of the resources will not only enhance the literacy skills of the child, but also of the adult.

Partnerships with learning centres, hospitals, schools, libraries and other community organizations will be developed through the distribution of the project. WINS branches will be responsible for the replenishment and distribution of the two hundred and fifty resource bags across the province. Samples of the project will also be distributed across Canada to other provincial units of the Women's Institutes to encourage others to create a Stories-To-Go program of their own. Children will be encourage to borrow the Stories-To-Go resource bags and discover the wonder of agriculture!

We feel this is an excellent project and one that will have a long term, positive impact in the rural community. It brings children and adults together through the love of reading which is an invaluable life skill. The ability to make informed decisions and develop a better understanding of agriculture and its place in our daily lives is enhanced by good literacy skills and an appreciation of rural living.

Partial funding for this project has been made by the Nova Scotia Agri-Food Industry Development Fund and the Canadian Agricultural Rural Communities Initiative.