The Covington Word Walk Takes Literacy to the Streets

Photograph by Lance Adkins

Have you ever seen the octopus in front of the Goebel Park clock tower? How about the rainbow by Crafts & Vines? If so, you’ve participated in Read Ready Covington’s A–Z Word Walk Scavenger Hunt. In six Covington neighborhoods you’ll find 26 little signs designed by BLDG, each featuring a word and pictures starting with a different letter of the alphabet—some also include the Spanish translation.

Kids can grab a Word Walk passport from the Kenton County Public Library or City Hall and complete the trail in exchange for a prize. The program was developed as part of Read Ready Covington, a citywide collaborative initiative to improve and encourage literacy as a community.

“It gives families something safe, outdoors, active,” says Read Ready Covington Founding Director MaryKay Connolly. “[The signs] nurture the curiosity children already have, but also give them opportunities to develop.” The Word Walks have grown so popular that RRC has been asked by other NKY towns like Newport and Dayton to expand the program there. “We need to have these public learning landscapes,” says Connolly. “We need things in our communities that are engaging and inspiring for young children.”