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Oak Brook Park District teaches
By Tom Suhs Many park districts offer some form of a Safety Town or Village program to young children to teach them correct safety habits and rules. The Oak Brook Park District has been offering its own Safety Village program for years. One of the challenges that these safety related programs offer is to try to develop an interesting enough curriculum to an age level that is notorious for having attention spans of a few seconds. In the continuous search to find material to stimulate this age level, the Oak Brook Park District has developed, on its own a novel way to help instruct its kindergarten and first grade Safety Village participants. This was accomplished by producing its own record of safety songs along with a coloring book. The songs and music were initiated into our Safety Village program to fill a void in certain areas where suitable material could not be found. The project was initiated when it was felt by the Safely Village Director that something was needed to reinforce sign identification. The children were used to seeing the signs during their "on the road" experience in the miniature village, but they were having difficulty remembering the signs' names and functions. If was suggested that perhaps a song would be a good way to help them learn sign recognition. So the first song in the "Color It Safe" project was called "Signs." Children, even at this early age, hear and enjoy music with a rock and roll beat. Bearing this in mind, "Signs "was written with a strong rhythmic pattern with an infectious chorus asking the musical question, "Signs, signs, do you know the traffic signs? If you saw them would you know them? Do you know the traffic signs?" The various verses of "Signs" continue by describing each different sign by its shape, appearance and function. The song was sung to the children at the program and it received a positive response. There was enough of a response that it was felt that other songs of a safety nature could be developed. In studying the program, another song topic to be addressed emerged from children using telephone simulators to practice calling the police or fire departments. It was apparent that the children were having a hard time learning our local emergency phone number. It was felt that perhaps a song could help them learn and memorize this phone number. So the song "990-2131 Shuffle" was born. This song teaches children how to go to the telephone when they are in trouble, "...pick up the receiver, and listen for a tone, then dial this number on the phone. . ." The chorus of the song repeats the phone number. The song eventually repeats the phone number 12 times. The intention was that children learn best by repetition. Other songs were added for similar purposes until there were a total of four that were being used. In the Safety Village program, a large component of the program is to provide many handouts and information. This is given to the child to take home and share with their family. The information taught during the program can be correctly reinforced in the home. In that the songs proved popular and were an effective way of teaching the different safety topics, it was felt that perhaps a record could be made of the songs and given to the participants. In researching this idea, we came across a package of a coloring book and a record with corresponding songs that covered safety topics. We would not only provide the participants with a record of the songs but also a coloring book with the music and pictures emphasizing the songs. After settling on this format, we proceeded to go about making arrangements to record the music. As the songs were originally presented to the children, they were sung with a simple guitar accompaniment. It was felt for the recording, that the music needed to be arranged further so that other instruments and voices could be added to make the music more interesting and much more enjoyable. A number of musicians agreed to donate their services for the recording. In the meantime, cost estimates were developed for recording and producing a record. We were fortunate to be able to secure a donation from a local bank to cover the costs of the entire record production. We were also able to secure a donation from a printing company who offered to print the book free. The end result was an eight-page coloring book and a record that was given to each participant. Singing aids learning The songs continue to be used as a way of reinforcing the different topics. In fact, since the recording was made, five more songs have been developed for use in the program. Recently a woman whose child participated in the Safety Village program and received a copy of "Color It Safe," told me a story about one of the songs. She explained that she works at the local fire department and came home one day and told her daughter about a fire that had occurred at a local office building. The fire, a minor one, caused little damage but apparently was large enough to frighten some of the employees. In the concern of trying to deal with the fire, none of the office workers could remember the fire department's phone number. "Gee," the little girl said to her mother, "that office should get a copy of the park district's 'Color It Safe' record, then they would be able to sing the phone number and remember it." Through examples like this, we know that the words and thoughts conveyed in the songs have left a lasting impression on children who have participated in the park district's Safety Village program.
Attendance at Illinois Conservation Attendance at Illinois Conservation sites topped 36.2 million visitors last year, according to Department of Conservation Director Mark Frech. "The improvements we have made at our parks, particularly our lodge sites, are paying off," Frech said. "More and more people are discovering that Illinois State parks are the place to go for either a weekend get-away or a week-long vacation." "There is something for everyone, from action-packed trips to just enjoying nature" The 1989 visitorship total of more than 36.2 million people was more than a 1 million increase from the previous year, Frech said. "Conservation offers a variety of recreational opportunities like camping, hiking, swimming, fishing, hunting, and tennis, just to name a few," Frech added. "There is something for everyone, from action-packed trips to just enjoying nature." Starved Rock State Park, with its $5.2 million renovation to the lodge facilities, had more than 1.46 million visitors last year, an increase of more than 175,000 people. The renovated facility was officially opened in May. Nearly 1.4 million people took in Pere Marquette State Park. With 7,900 acres, Pere Marquette is the largest park in the state system. Improvements at the lodge and harbor totaled $11.3 million and included additional rooms, an indoor swimming pool, sauna, whirlpool, and an outdoor tennis court. The new Clarion Inn Resort and Conference Center helped draw nearly half a million visitors to Eagle Creek State Park, about double the attendance at the park in 1988. "The new 18-hole championship golf course at Eagle Creek is outstanding and has been a popular addition to the park," Frech said. Attendance at Giant City State Park and White Pines State Park fell during 1989 from the previous year. In keeping with the department's philosophy of family recreation, alcohol was banned at Giant City from September through May, the main reason for a reduction in attendance there. The reduction in visitors to White Pines is the result of major road construction just outside the park which has made access difficult. "We anticipate that attendance at those two sites will grow dramatically during the next few years," Frech said.
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