Sheryl Shyloski was visiting a Colorado library last summer with her one-year-old, when she saw some toys available for loan and inspiration struck. From that, Sheryl’s unique idea for Guilford’s new Toy Library was born.

“There’s no end to the fun that can be had with games, but you don’t realize how many core skills you’re working on just by that play,” she says.

As school psychologist for Guilford Public Schools (GPS)’s Preschool and Bright Connections, Sheryl is well aware of the benefits and opportunities educational toys and play-based experiences can bring to the lives of children with and without special needs.

“Just look at my office!” says Sheryl, who offers guests pint-sized seats beneath shelves packed with games, toys, and other appealing hands-on materials. “We know that kids learn through play, and that’s a great way to access their attention. To sustain attention on learning a new concept is a hard thing for little kids to do. Cognitively, their executive functioning skills aren’t there yet. So how do we teach them intentful attention? The first step to that is play.”

With the Toy Library, parents will be able to help their children build many developmental skills. They’ll have access to compelling games and high-quality toys selected with Sheryl’s expertise, and a guide to use during play thanks to a professional playbook Sheryl has painstakingly produced: the Toy Library Catalog.

While kids will be wowed by the appeal of the library’s hands-on games and activities, parents will be just as thrilled to open the catalog Sheryl has created. On each page, Sheryl hands parents the keys to learning activities and developmental skills that can be unlocked by different ways of playing with each toy.

If you’re a parent of a young one, you’re probably already asking, “Okay, where can I find this Toy Library?”

Thanks to a grant from Guilford Fund for Education (GFFE) and enthusiastic cooperation from Guilford Free Library (GFL), Sheryl expects the community Toy Library to be available at the GFL Children’s Room by the end of June. In addition, she will open a second Toy Library at Guilford Lakes School, home to GPS summer school programming and two district-wide programs for students with special needs.

Sheryl is grateful for the assistance and enthusiasm of library staff members at both GFL and Lakes, who will help oversee patrons’ use of the toys. Working with GFL Children’s Librarian Angelia Carnevale, Assistant Director Rob McCoole, and Director Sandy Ruoff, Sheryl says plans are in the works for two September workshops to help introduce the Toy Library to Guilford parents and families.

Finding Funding

Earlier this year, in seeking the $6,000-plus grant from GFFE to purchase toys and materials, Sheryl described the importance of community access as well as the educational benefits of her Toy Library concept. GFFE awarded the Toy Library grant to Sheryl in April. It’s third grant Sheryl has sought and won from GFFE, and the most far-reaching.

“This is much larger than anything I had conceived of before, in terms of having it reach between the school and community library,” says Sheryl. “Our library in town is so well-maintained, so well-regarded and has so many people come to it. When you think about how many people you can reach with something like this, the outreach from the library is huge.”

Sheryl and her husband, Greg (a Guilford Lakes special education teacher), are Clinton residents with a two year-old son, Cedar. Sheryl says getting little pre-readers excited about going to the library for programs, from sing-a-longs to story time, will pay dividends well into the future.

“Before they’re reading, what are they doing that will get them feeling like the library is a place where good things come from?” she asks, “I feel like the Toy Library is a downward extension of that, in that you’re creating this path to the library where they know that good times are had, and cool stuff can be found. And as they get older, that will translate into reading and looking for the books that make them excited.”

In recent weeks, Sheryl has been locating, ordering and gathering the Toy Library’s inventory as well as putting the finishing touches on producing the Toy Library Catalog.

Photos and descriptions provided with some of the eye-grabbing toys show they are simply the type that encourage socialization, imagination, and creative uses for “open-ended play,” Sheryl says. Others cover elements of games and toys that families may find familiar. Many more describe uses and options for play with toys that aren’t readily found in the family’s toy chest.

“We have the classics like Connect Four and a lot of other fun games that you’ll remember,” says Sheryl. “There are also some more novel things, and others that unless you’re going out of your way reading toy reviews, or spending a lot of time in preschools, you might not have seen before.”

The Toy Library at GFL and the Toy Library at Guilford Lakes will start off with slightly more than 100 toys available at each location.

“Our hope is to build on that over time,” says Sheryl. “There are some funds left in the grant, so we can re-order toys that are either really popular and always in demand, or replace toys that are broken too easily and find other toys that might be beneficial to kids.”

At GFL, the Toy Catalog binder will be available to page through at the children’s check-out counter. In addition to a picture of the toy together with the manufacturer’s description and Sheryl’s therapeutic notations, parents will also often find her suggestions, such as how to customize the use of a toy to your child’s needs.

For example, reaching out to ring a bell might just be plain fun and a bit of hand-eye coordination for an eight year-old, but in a child with special needs or a younger child, it could be encouraging important cross-lateral movement. Other ways to engage with some of the toys and games can be to challenge kids in areas such as deductive reasoning and higher level skills.

“So if you want to have a family game night, you can bring home that toy and have it be something that’s got a degree of difficulty for your early adolescent kiddos to get their hands on, too,” says Sheryl.

Sheryl is excited to be able to offer the Toy Library to help enhance the Guilford community, offering all children in the community access to high quality toys while giving families guidance from therapeutic professionals.

As Sheryl noted in her GFFE grant application, by bridging school services to support parents in the community, the Toy Library creates “an opportunity to bring something completely new to Guilford.”