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Born Learning Trail

The Waterville Rotary Club is pleased to announce that a new Born Learning Trail is now available for use by parents with young children.  Located on North Street in Waterville (behind the North Street Playground and tennis courts), the Born Learning Trial is an engaging path of interactive activities that helps parents/caregivers promote language and pre-literacy skills, motor skills and school readiness for their young children.  The Born Learning trail is part of United Way’s national public engagement campaign designed to provide families with information about how to turn everyday activities, from running errands to doing laundry, into learning opportunities for young children. The campaign is built on the idea that children are born learning, and that even the smallest interactions with parents, grandparents and caregivers can encourage their development and school readiness.  

Waterville Area Little Free Library

What is a Little Free Library?  It’s a “take a book, return a book” gathering place where neighbors share their favorite literature and stories.  In its most basic form, a Little Free Library is a box full of books where anyone may stop by and pick up a book (or two) and bring back another book to share. There are several areas around Waterville that the committee is considering for placement. 



Rhoda Reads

Rhoda Reads™ is an early literacy program designed especially for Rotarians to engage in the development of our youngest community learners at the most opportune time – when they are ages 0-5.  Learning to read is a major foundational skill which strongly correlates with both academic and vocational success.  

With the Rhoda Reads™ program, we provide training to our Rotarians on early childhood development, and then equip each Rotarian participant with a Rhoda Reads™ Tool Kit which includes a variety of books for children up to age 5 as well as an adorable stuffed owl named Rhoda (our program mascot).  Rotarians are then matched with a local early childcare provider which they will regularly visit and spend time reading to children 0-5 years of age. We have also contracted with Pulitzer Prize winning Maine children’s book author Barbara Walsh to write “Rhoda’s Rescue” - our own children’s book featuring Rhoda the Owl teaching her fellow woodland creatures about the ideals of Rotary.

One of the goals for the coming year is to create an implementation guide and kit for our fellow Rotary Clubs so that they can replicate the program in their area.

For more information about Rhoda Reads, contact Rotary Club of Waterville Community Services Chair at RhodaReads@gmail.com.