GREENVILLE – The Light Foundation is excited to watch Darke County students learn and grow throughout the year while participating in the Light Project for the fifth year in a row.
The program aims to get Darke County first-graders interested in science and exploring the environments around them. There are three aspects to the Light Project, which includes reading books, while completing outdoor activities, and writing journal entries about what they discovered. The bonus to the Light Project is Family Fun Days that take place once a month at Chenoweth Trails or other places in Darke County.
The annual Light Project Kick Off and the first Family Fun Day of the year took place at Chenoweth Trails in September.
The Light Project Kickoff event hosted approximately 550 first-graders from eight Darke County schools in the duration of two days. The students started their field trip by reading Lawrence in the Fall by Matthew Farina. The book is about a fox that needs something for his show-n-tell collection, so he goes searching in the woods. He finds the woods to be scary at first, but as he grows comfortable, he starts to recognize all the magic and uniqueness of the trees.
The book was a perfect fit to introduce the Light Project to the first-graders who will be exploring nature all year long as they participate in the program.
After all classrooms participated in the reading of the book, they ventured off to different stations throughout the day. The stations included outdoor safety & tools, decorating their activity bags, learn what prizes they can earn, an earth ball activity, hike down Hedge Apple Row, completed a journal entry, and rock balancing.
In addition to the Light Project Kickoff taking place, The Light Foundation also hosted a Family Fun day for the first-graders that decided to participate.
With the help of Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs and the Light Foundation staff, the students and their families enjoyed a couple hours of fishing at the pond. This gave them another opportunity to be immersed in nature so they will be more prone to inspire creativity and help them gain confidence.
The Light Foundation continues to help the youth grow and learn each year. It would not be possible to provide books, tools, and journals to approximately 550 first-graders in 26 classrooms each year without the help of sponsors.
The sponsors for this year’s Light Project are Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife, Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration, DP&L Foundation, The Fred & Alice Wallace Charitable Memorial Foundation, Kiwanis International, American Legion Post 140, SEW Eurodrive, The Knights of Columbus, Moose Lodge #329, and Hooked on Fishing – Not on Drugs. If you’re interested in becoming a sponsor, email [email protected].
