A new free toy lending library for children out of Floyd Memorial Library supports early childhood development
Although Alana Fernandes, Mahorr Levi and Francesca Prainito graduated in May from Stony Brook University with degrees in occupational therapy, their final project has ensured they will leave a meaningful legacy on the North Fork.
Ms. Fernandes, Ms. Levi and Ms. Prainito, along with the help of their classmate Ashliane Vazquez, helped set up a permanent free toy lending library runningout of Greenport’s Floyd Memorial Library.
After obtaining the toys through donations from their peers, they set up this lending library in partnership with children’s librarian Vicky Kotula. She said the community has been thrilled with the resources the lending library provides.
“It’s a win-win all the way around,” Ms. Kotula said. “The students who put the program together got a lot of real-world, practical experience. We got toys for free to pass on to the community.”
Through this project the graduates have supported early childhood development and parent-child relationships. The lending library currently has 16 toys for children with ages ranging from birth to three months, according to Ms. Kotula. The items include books, puzzles and stackable toys.
The toys are meant to help strengthen fine motor skills, balance coordination, problem-solving and cognition. For parents who aren’t sure if their child has reached certain milestones, each toy comes with a checklist that details the skills the toy is encouraging and instructions on how to use the toy properly. The educational resources that come with the toys are in both English and Spanish.
“The toys that we chose are toys that will help parents and kids bond through play,” Ms. Prainito said. “They’ll help with building strength and children’s muscles, work on children’s balance, hand dexterity and coordination and problem solving skills. As occupational therapists, we know that play helps brain development, so it’s a population that can really use play for building skills and development.”
“The parents really appreciate not having to make an appointment with the pediatrician to go ask about this, they can kind of self-analyze a little bit,” Ms. Kotula added. “If they see a big red flag, then obviously they take it to their doctor, but it’s just another tool. I think, as a parent, that I know I would appreciate having access to from the library.”
Ms. Fernandes, Ms. Levi and Ms. Prainito were all third-year students of Hannah Mercier’s Service-Learning Capstone course at Stony Brook University. Ms. Mercier — a longtime North Fork resident and Riverhead High School graduate currently living in Jamesport — has her graduate occupational therapy students consult with community organizations such as libraries, wildlife refuges and schools about various needs in the community and help them meet that need.
“I’m personally really happy to incorporate some of the students’ work and impact the community out here in a meaningful way and I’m just really, really proud of the effort that they put in and also thankful for the community partnerships,” Ms. Mercier said.
The class organized 15 projects altogether this past semester. Other projects that have been set up by the students in the course include a repair café, a free meeting place where community members and expert volunteers can access tools to repair furniture, clothing, appliances and more, on Shelter Island. Students also developed group programming to reduce fatigue for individuals living with long COVID, implement a sensory garden, train instructors in evidence-based fall-prevention programming and more.
“It was just such an interesting idea to be able to provide such an area for a library,” Ms. Levi said.
Ms. Kotula hopes to continue this partnership to expand the library for children aged 7 to 8 years old, as well as middle-school-aged children.
“I’m working with them now, every spring semester, in different age groups, different capacities with all occupational therapy and physical therapy issues,” she said.
