The Children’s Trust officially launched Pages in the Park during September’s National Literacy Month, unveiling the new early literacy initiative at four Miami-Dade County parks and turning neighborhood playgrounds into interactive spaces where children and families can read, talk, play and learn together.

The initiative was developed through a partnership among The Children’s Trust Book Club, Uplift Literacy and Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation. It combines outdoor play with early literacy activities through colorful educational signs, movement-based activities and conversation prompts designed to encourage children and caregivers to learn together during everyday park visits.

“For years, The Children’s Trust Book Club has helped thousands of children discover the joy of reading by putting books directly into families’ hands. Pages in the Park builds on that success by bringing literacy into the places where children already play and explore,” said The Children’s Trust President & CEO James R. Haj. “By turning everyday park visits into opportunities to read, talk, and learn together, we’re helping children develop the skills and confidence that support lifelong learning.”

The four parks unveiled as part of the launch were Oak Grove Park, Ruben Dario Park, Westwind Lakes Park and JL and Enid Demps Park. Each Pages in the Park installation features five to six interactive signs positioned around a playground. The activities are designed to build vocabulary, encourage storytelling, promote letter recognition and reinforce other foundational early literacy skills.

Activities encourage children and caregivers to read, talk, write, sing and play together. Children might embark on a letter hunt, tell a story or listen for and identify sounds in nature, incorporating language and learning into activities they are already doing outdoors.

The initiative reflects research showing that frequent opportunities to engage with language, storytelling and print can help children develop language and early reading skills. By incorporating those activities into neighborhood parks, Pages in the Park provides families with another setting to practice early literacy skills outside the home and classroom.

Expanding literacy opportunities

Pages in the Park is expected to expand to additional parks throughout Miami-Dade County over the next several years. The planned expansion is intended to give more children and families access to interactive early literacy experiences in the communities where they live and spend time.

The initiative builds on The Children’s Trust Book Club, which provides children from birth through age 4½ with one free book each month, delivered directly to their homes in English, Spanish or Haitian Creole.

Pages in the Park extends that effort into community spaces, giving families additional opportunities to engage with books, language and early literacy skills while visiting neighborhood parks.

Learn more at The Trust's Pages in the Park landing page.