Hop! Shake! Wiggle!

No, these are not lines from the latest TV kid show, the exclamations are posted on signs along the Born Learning Trail at Fort Nugent Park.

“Research tells us that children are literally ‘born learning’,” Cathy Niiro, executive director of United Way of Island County, said. Niiro wants to help give parents and caregivers the tools to jump-start learning.

The new trail is a series of activities that incorporate the latest early childhood development research to create an interactive outdoor trail to help parents, grandparents and caregivers turn a afternoon at the park into an engaging learning experience.

“The Born Learning Trail promotes fun and games— important components of early childhood learning,” Niiro said.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, nearly half of America’s kindergarteners come to school behind in their development.

United Way of America hopes to change that statistic.

In partnership with the Families and Work Institute, Ad Council and Civitas, United Way of America created a public engagement campaign —“Born Learning”— to help parents, caregivers and communities create everyday early learning opportunities for its youngest members.

The trail includes 10 signs to get children’s brains and bodies moving, to build fine and gross motor skills as well as the thinking that’s key to Kindergarten success.

Trail blazing

The United Way of Island County will launch the Born Learning Outdoor Trail at a ribbon cutting ceremony Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. at Fort Nugent Park. Call Cathy Niro at 360-675-1778, or visit bornlearning.org.