ESTEVAN - Bringing children to the Estevan Public Library is set to be more entertaining with the new children’s program co-ordinator Alyssa Vacca.
“That means I’m co-ordinating programs for kids to welcome them to the library,” said Vacca.
Born in Winnipeg, Vacca came to Estevan two years ago, and settled well.
“I’m originally from Winnipeg. I’ve been here for almost two years, and there’s still a lot that I have not experienced yet, so, so far so good,” she said.
And, with a history of working with children, she’s more than prepared.
“I worked at a daycare for five years, back (in Winnipeg), and then I worked at the daycare here as well,” she says.
Working with kids is something she enjoys, Vacca mentioned, but daycares and children’s play centres aren’t exactly the easiest places to develop.
“I felt that, like working at a daycare, you can’t really grow as much,” she elaborated. “But here you can grow, in a sense. That was it. I have more room for growth here than I did at a daycare.”
And although she does admit the two jobs are similar, she does enjoy her new job.
“Doing activities, reading books, a bunch of stuff. It’s kinda like working in a daycare, but in the library.”
Vacca said she endured no difficulty with the program during the pandemic, especially as she started after the protocols were lifted, but she is prepared if any precautions come into place. The full program is set to begin in September, and Vacca has a schedule prepared for the months after.
“I guess in the next couple months I’ll start planning for the next three months,” she said about her schedule. Everything that is currently happening is arranged on a weekly basis.
“It’s a weekly thing. Wednesdays are toddler time, Tuesdays are story time, Thursdays are baby and me. Every other Friday is a video game type thing, and one Saturday a month is Lego Club, and every second Monday is a kids’ cooking kinda thing. A STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program is on the third Saturday of the month, too.”
She also says she isn’t going to be working with teenagers, just kids. “I personally haven’t (worked with teenagers), I’m currently with kids 12 and under.”
Vacca expressed her enthusiasm to begin her work with the kids, and hopes parents bring their kids to experience everything she’s been preparing for the year.
“I’m super excited. (People) should come visit and check it out, if they have the free time, ‘cause I have a lot of stuff planned, and I don’t really want it to go to waste.”
