In construction: young minds

 United Way kicks off child development program with event at Cabell County  Public Library

 By JEAN TARBETT - The Herald-Dispatch

 HUNTINGTON -- Minus the orange cones and
 barrels, it was obvious that construction was
 going on Sunday on the third and fourth floors of
 the Cabell County Public Library.

 The workers wore pigtails and sneakers rather
 than hard hats and steel-toe boots. And their
 tools were scissors, hole-punchers and LEGOS.

 Their object: building minds.

 An event Sunday sponsored by the library and
 United Way of the River Cities Success By 6
 program provided the perfect opportunity.
 Children built trains, towns and windmills from
 LEGOS, made construction-paper houses and  created their own quilts with a traveling,  computerized children’s exhibit at the library.  "When you teach them when they’re young,  they’re developing a love for learning, and that  love will last a lifetime," said Barbara Gilbert,  director of youth services at the library.

 Along with Success By 6, which organizes  activities focused on early childhood  development, Marshall University professor Linda  Hamilton, who specializes in education through LEGOS, and the Huntington Museum  of Art participated.

 The first years of a child’s life are critical to stimulating the learning process, according  to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The brain has more nerves than will ever be  used, and those that don’t find ways to connect to each other die off, the academy  reports on its Web site.
Forty percent to 60 percent die off before birth because they don’t make connections, it said.

 Nerves were connecting rampantly Sunday at  the library.

 Though their parents may have realized it, the  children didn’t seem to notice.

 Tammi Fields of Huntington said she knows her  four children are having a good time if "They’re
 quiet and they’re sharing."

 For the most part, that’s how her sons, Chris  and Zack, were behaving as they piled LEGOS
 together Sunday.

 "It’s a jungle," Chris, 11, said of their creation.  "No, it’s a town," Zack, 8, said.

 Parts were a jungle, and parts were a town, they eventually decided. Regardless, they
 had a fun afternoon, they said.

 "They love coming to the library," their mother said. "They love to read and to play on
 the computers. They even like the story time."

 Fred McCallister brought his 5-year-old twins, Megan and Macie.

 "It’s entertainment for the moment, but it’s great for their development," he said as the
 girls pasted doors and windows onto their orange, construction-paper houses.They also enjoyed the library’s "Go Figure!" exhibit, which  includes several stations  that incorporate stories and activities teaching math and other skills. Children from  area child-care centers and schools have visited, Gilbert said. The exhibit will be there  through Sept. 26, Gilbert said.The McCallister twins, who live in Huntington, are regulars at the library and at manySuccess By 6 events, their father said.

 "We get ideas for things to do now and later," he said. "I watch them over the years.
 They absorb everything like a sponge if you give it to them. It will only get harder asthey get older."

From
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/2002/September/16/LNtop1.htm