Spencerville Elementary has been recognized for its academic achievement with a national award! "It really does take a village, and I think the entire town comes together and works together for the best of the kids," says Susan Wagner, principal of Spencerville Elementary School. And because of that collaboration, Spencerville Elementary is in an elite group. They are 1 of 69 National ESEA Distinguished School award winners and only one of two in Ohio. The award recognizes schools that effectively use Title 1 funding to increase academic achievement. Spencerville says it's the teamwork between their staff, with their parents, and with the community that has gotten them five stars on their grade card the last two years.

It was all about the "cold" at the Lima Public Library today. The youth services department held its first baby-toddler story time of 2025, learning all about cold weather friends from polar bears to narwhals. The library offers programs like this to help children discover early literacy skills such as narrative skills, print awareness, and letter knowledge.

Some hot chocolate and some cool crafts make for a fun morning at the Lima Public Library. The library hosted a crafting event Saturday morning to give kids the chance to make faces with stickers. The event promotes facial recognition skills for young children, and they also got the chance to enjoy some cocoa too.

Lima South Science and Technology Magnet students engaged in fun science lessons on Tuesday. The Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District hosted the life science lessons for students from kindergarten through fifth grade. Various topics were on the table, including living versus non-living, energy transfer, the food chain, and even worms. Not only can the science lessons be brought back to the classroom, but they will also help prepare students for field trips planned in the spring.

Whether it’s on the playground, in the lunchroom, or in the classroom, Elida Elementary students have a Watch DAWGS in their corner. It’s a long-running program that brings male mentors in to work and interact with the kids. Alex McAdams became a Watch DAWG when his daughter Rylan started kindergarten. As part of the program, the mentors help the teachers in the classroom, spend time with the students during lunch and at recess, and give the students one-on-one help with subjects like reading. While McAdams is spending time with his daughter, he is also spending time with kids she sees daily.

Rhodes State College offer kids the chance learning more about welding, chemistry, and teamwork through the Rhodesology Mini Camps.  

Heir Force Community School and Ohio Northern University teamed up today for some hands-on learning. Led by professors from the Ohio Northern University College of Engineering, the students engaged in multiple engineering experiments like programming their own robots and creating their own paper rockets. After a few test runs, the students competed to see which group's rocket could come closest to a target distance. The partnership between Ohio Northern University and Heir Force Community School has been one that makes an impact on the students and teaches them to use team-building skills and collaborate.

Education is changing, and learning through experience is helping reinforce the lessons students are learning in the classroom. The Ohio Association of Two-Year Colleges held their annual conference at Rhodes State College, and they brought in educator and author Candy Van Buskirk to talk about the changing dynamic of education. She says that student engagement has declined, and students respond more favorably to hands-on learning. With two-year colleges helping train the next generation of the workforce, helping students get real-world experiences is key.

It was a perfect October evening for families to read under the lights! Lima City Schools kicked off their first family literacy event of the school year with "Reading Under the Lights" on Lima Senior High School's Joe Bowers Field. On Tuesday evening, families and their kids were able to grab some popcorn and sit on the field reading classic children's books and going over sight words, parts of speech, and grammar. There were also various games for the kids to play and to run around the diamond. On Tuesday evening, we talked with two Lima Senior students to get their insight on why these nights are important.

The workshop for children is from 6:00-7:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 16, 2024, in the G. Gilbert Cloyd Student Commons on the lower level of Galvin Hall at Ohio State Lima. The facilitator training is from 4-8 p.m., Monday, October 14, in the G. Gilbert Cloyd Student Commons on the lower level of Galvin Hall.