A former Hope Secondary graduate will be reading her book for Storytime in the Park.
Sarah Van Reeuwyk is joining the popular summer event and will be reading her book Choosing Makes Me Happy in Memorial Park on July 22. Running from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., children and their parents can join Van Reeuwyk and learn all about executive function and how to become better at making decisions in their lives.
The book, which Van Reeuwyk published in 2023, is an interactive children’s book that follows Van Reeuwyk’s three year-old daughter as she makes choices throughout the day. Both kids and their parents can follow along with the story which focuses on executive function and how to practice it.
Specifically, Van Reeuwyk created the book to give children a resource for developing their decision making skills and building up their confidence.
Her story was inspired by watching the adults she taught in 2022, while working as a designated coach, struggle with executive function or their ability to juggle multiple tasks, plan, focus, and remember. After helping them develop these skills, Van Reeuwyk realized that her experience and skills might help children might benefit from.
Raised in Hope, Van Reeuwyk is the Branch Manager at Prospera Credit Union. This is her first book and she hopes to write more in the future.
She is one of seven people who are spending their Tuesday mornings, until Aug. 12, reading stories aloud to the public.
Upcoming readers and books are Teresa Williams reading 123’s of Kindness, Naomi Barrettara reading The Bear Snores On, and Caris Nickerson reading Sleepy Sheepy.
Storytime in the Park is also pairing this year’s reading with fun rhythm activities to get the audience moving and grooving. Upcoming sessions will be hosted by Barrettara’s Mountain Melodies and the Family Resource Centre Staff.
For those interested, Choosing Makes Me Happy can be ordered online at Van Reeuwyk’s Etsy store, SarahVanWriting.