Celebrate Reading

In case you didn't know,  March 2nd is Dr. Seuss' birthday.  In celebration of Dr. Seuss, March 2nd is also called Read Across America Day.  It is a day(and the month of March, really) which is used by educators to celebrate and promote the importance of reading.

Where am I going with this, you may wonder?

Well, our elementary schools like to celebrate Read Across America Day. Unfortunately it falls just at the start of a 2 week period of time when there is statewide mastery tests given in all elementary schools.

So, we just postpone our celebration of reading until the beginning of April.

Our town has 2 elementary schools.  One holds grades K-2 and the other is where the children in grades 3-5 attend.

Each year on our towns' Read Across ________(in trying to keep some anonymity I won't name the town I live in!) Day, children from the older grades go to read to the children in the younger grades.

As the girls are in 3rd grade this year, it was their first chance to go back to their old elementary school and read to the little kids.  D&E have been excited for the last week in anticipation of this day.

A few weeks ago, E's teacher asked me if I would like to go with them to take some pictures.  And of course I said yes!

E picked out her books last week to bring with her today.  She brought a Skippy JonJones book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Pickle Chiffon Pie, a Mercy Watson book, and Edwina.

D picked out 3 books to bring with her to read.  She picked A Frog in the Bog, Ten Apples Up on Top, and a Skippy Jon Jones book as well.  Her class went to a kindergarten class.  She told me after school that it was lots of fun.

E's class went to a 1st grade classroom.  All of the kids were very excited and a little nervous.  It was so cute to watch both the 3rd graders and 1st graders get paired up.

 
There was a little shyness on each part as they made their way around the classroom to pick a spot to sit and read together.  So cute.

All of the kids enjoy this day so much.  It's fun for the little ones to see the big kids. And the big kids get such a kick out of going to read to the little ones.

E was so happy when we passed her old 1st grade classroom.  Her former teacher, Mrs M.,  gave her a big smile and wave.  That was just as exciting as being the big kid and reading to the 1st grader.

The time went by quick and before the kids knew it, it was time to get back on the busses to head back to their school.

I think it's great that the schools participate in a day like this one.

It's days like this that the kids will remember for years to come.  Even this morning at breakfast the girls were remembering last year when they were in 2nd grade and what grade class came to read to them.

Good school memories being made for all the kids.

potd #93.  Such bad lighting in this picture, but I haven't yet figured out how to get around bad fluorescent light.  But, here is E reading the Skippy Jon Jones to her partner.