Staying together

The Manjimup Family Centre is continuing to provide children’s entertainment despite having to close its doors due to COVID-19 fears.

The centre has started providing a virtual story time program online via video conferencing, presented by staff member Fiona Browne.

“I feel really privileged actually, to be a part of it and to see the children’s faces really light up when their friends are online,” she said.

“Their whole lives have really changed at the moment, so just to provide that normalcy a little bit for them is really good.”

In just its second session the program attracted seven parents and 14 children for a reading of the classic children’s story Possum Magic by Mem Fox.

Ms Browne said the centre thought it was vital for its members to remain connected.

“We wanted to really find something that was more interactive so that we could remain connected,” she said.

“That way the children and the parents are able to maintain their connections with their friends so the children get to see the other children’s faces on the screen when we’re interacting and we can still chat to each other.”

The stories are held at 10am Monday to Thursday.