Nā Keiki Puni Moʻolelo: Home

What is Nā Keiki Puni Moʻolelo?

Nā Keiki Puni Moʻolelo translates to "the children who love stories". This initiative takes many forms and was started in Fall 2015 at the Leeward CC Library. The program's driving force is now the UH-West Oʻahu Library and ultimately aims to strengthen the school's connection to its surrounding community while helping to shape a brighter future for all participants.

Program Goals

Foster a love for reading in children
Books inspire and plant seeds of hope. By helping to develop a joy for reading and literacy, our keiki will improve their writing and reading comprehension skills. This will create a passion for learning and spark a hunger for knowledge. Books are essential in fostering imagination and helping children to dream of and realize their full potential.
Expand UHWO's outreach and partnerships with their surrounding communities
Through literacy and art, we will build lasting relationships with our communities and introduce the idea of higher education as a very real possibility to our keiki! Some of our programs invite young children to our campus so creating an engaging and positive learning environment will allow them to dream about and strive for a higher education.
Give UHWO students hands-on experience working with children and implementing workshops/activities
The UHWO students involved in our programs will gain real-world teaching skills. By facilitating lessons and activities, these students will be able to bridge the theory they learn in their Education and Hawaiian Studies courses with real-world classroom teaching experiences. These practical skills are invaluable and will contribute greatly to their future career choices.
Showcase libraries as collaborative spaces with valuable resources
We want children to learn at an early age that libraries are an amazing resource...they're portals to success! Libraries have made huge strides in recent years, breaking free of its "traditional" stigma to become a more open, fluid learning atmosphere that encourages collaboration and self-exploration.
Promote the Arts
Each and every one of us is an artist in our own right. The beauty of art is that there's no right or wrong and that our imagination is the only limiting factor to our artistic journey. Art is a great way to express oneself and is a great way to make education engaging and fun.
Educate!
Every book educates. Beyond that, some of our programs give children the opportunity to learn more about Native Hawaiian culture and language, which expands their understanding of and appreciation for the place we all come home - Hawaiʻi.