117 Main Street
Chester, VT 05143
United States
43.263664, -72.59726
In 2025, the Family Place initiative had a significant positive impact on our library, our families, and my own professional practice. The training I received through the Family Place program in March 2025 provided meaningful professional development that I was able to immediately apply in my home library. As a result, the quality and range of age-appropriate toys and materials available for playgroups and daily use improved tremendously. Children especially enjoy the new sensory bins and the mobility toys such as stepping stones and wobble discs, while caregivers have responded positively to the expanded parenting resources now available, including ParentTV, a refreshed parenting book collection, and a growing selection of toys available for borrowing.
The enrichment of toys and materials on the library floor has transformed the space into a more inviting, family-centered environment, and families have shared how much they enjoy coming to the library to spend time together and explore. Observing how children engage with specific types of play, such as dramatic play with the kitchen set, has also shaped future programming, with rotating play scenarios and themed playgroups (e.g., dinosaurs or ice cream) that integrate coordinated materials across dramatic play, sensory activities, music, art, and books. Overall, Family Place has helped refresh our playgroup offerings and strengthened our ability to connect families with engaging experiences and helpful public resources that support early learning and family well-being.
At this time, I do not have photos to share from the December 2025 playgroups. The former Library Director, who oversaw this grant, departed without leaving documentation or event photos from that period. While I facilitated the playgroups, I was unable to take photos myself during the sessions. I will be able to provide updated photos of upcoming playgroups and the newly revised community room once construction is complete. The community room is currently disassembled due to the installation of a new HVAC system, but I anticipate being able to share photos of the refreshed space and programming once this work is completed.