Gaston-Life

When children drive the boat at story time

I’ve often said that the best learning and most meaningful experiences with children happen unexpectedly. And it happens all the time, especially with picture books. You just have to seize the moment and be ready to let go of the scripted text, the one that’s in your head.

I’d like to tell you about two outstanding books where this happened, each with very different experiences:

Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La and Gaston. Yes, reading those words from Gaston, by Kelly DiPucchio to the children started it all. They cracked up (it really was funny), so I read it again. More laughing, and I laughed, too. The words in the text repeated the dogs’ names. I paused, looked at the children, and read the names again—this time with a voice and an accent. Well, we roared, together. I couldn’t stop laughing. My tears blocked seeing the words in the book.

Was this planned? Of course not. It just happened. Why was this important? It made their teacher (me) more human. It was a class bonding moment. If anyone was having a bad day, they weren’t any longer. Laughter is the best medicine. Next, we finished reading the book, and we learned a few impromptu words in French. Oui, oui.

The story is about Gaston, who is clearly not at all like his sisters, Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, and Ooh-La-La. The dogs meet another family, Rocky, Ricky, Bruno, and Antoinette, who is not like her brothers. The two mother dogs discuss what appears to be the obvious, a dog in each family that doesn’t belong:

It seems there’s been a terrible mistake. Whatever shall we do? I guess we’ll let them decide.

What happens next is a story of diversity, belonging, and love. Laced with humor, the book appeals to children and adults. It certainly appeals to my children! Belly laughing made it a memory. Oh, we now sing “Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, Ooh-La-La and Gaston” as a catchy tune.

Sometimes a simple text can be powerful. I discovered just that when I read aloud Life, by West Virginia native Cynthia Rylant.

The book starts with these words:

Life begins small. Even for elephants. Then it grows. Beneath the sun. And the moon. Life grows.

Powerful, indeed. I read the words slowly, taking time to stop and let the words sink in, and show the illustrations. Children were silent. The story depicts not only the elephant, but many other animals. In a matter-of-fact way, it tells the tale of how things are not always easy. Life. Yet, there is always hope and wonder ahead as we go through life. The book ends with these words:

And it is worth waking up in the morning to see what might happen. Because life begins small. And grows.

When I finished reading to this silent group, I clutched the book to my chest and paused. I said, “I love life. What do I like the most?”

Long pause and thinking.

“Singing! I love singing. Everyone knows Jennie loves singing.”

And then I looked at all those little faces, looking at me. I knew what I needed to do; I asked each child what they love about life. I was stunned. I never expected to hear these answers:

“Hearts and love. Legos. Trees. The moon. Dancing. Santa. Hearts. Rainbows. Big hearts. My big sister. Playing with Alex and Hunter. My big brother. My Mom and Dad.”

My goodness!

No wonder this book has been recommended as an alternative to Dr. Seuss’ book, Oh the Places You’ll Go, as a graduation gift.

If you think books and words and stories aren’t powerful, think again. When you seize the moment as you read a book aloud, and follow your instinct and heart, you will make that book far more meaningful for children. Whether it is filled with humor or worldly advice, it really doesn’t matter. You will make that book come alive. You will make a difference.

Jennie Fitzkee, a West Virginia native who lives in Massachusetts, has been teaching and reading to preschoolers for 30 years. Her blog, A Teacher’s Reflections, chronicles lessons that extend far beyond the classroom.

McDonalds Event Chris Connolly

Horses, hamburgers and halftimes: everything goes in Boone County

By Sara Busse

From high school football games, to pets, to Happy Meals, the Boone County chapter of Read Aloud is an example of “everything goes” when it comes to promoting reading in southern West Virginia. Chapter President Jennifer Griffith leads the charge with enthusiasm, creativity, generosity and passion.

The Boone group has come up with many new and innovative ways to boost reading, and, in turn, Read Aloud West Virginia, throughout their county. And while Griffith is the epitome of that iconic battery bunny, she realized she couldn’t do it all alone.

“We have a board!” Griffith explained proudly. “It took a while—but we have legislators, sheriffs, a group of ten that’s incredible.” Along with the school coordinators at Brookview, Madison, Sherman, Whitesville and Ramage elementary schools and under Griffith’s untiring leadership, the organization has initiated several exciting programs.

Two board members, brother-and-sister team Chris Connolly and Katie Foster, are co-owners of the McDonald’s restaurant in Madison. It’s no surprise that the omnipresent Griffith is connected to them in other parts of her busy life: her husband coached football with Chris, and she is Katie’s daughter’s piano teacher.

“Chris called me and said he wanted to do something where he gave out free items on a Saturday at McDonald’s to promote reading,” Griffith said. “We held a book drive and the kids got free happy meals, ice cream coupons, and we went on Facebook live from the restaurant. School was just starting so the timing was perfect.” Children’s books by renowned national author Laura Numeroff were featured in the Happy Meals that month, creating a perfect connection. All donated books were distributed to the elementary schools in the county.

Griffith has hosted book drives at the local Boone County high schools during football games. She’s encouraged many partnerships, including working with the coaches and Girl Scouts.

“It’s fun times for groups to help! We’ve just been really blessed with folks who see our efforts and donate,” Griffith explained.

Combining her social media savvy and her love of reading comes naturally to Griffith. Add kids and cuddly animals, and Read To Your Pet Day is born.

“It’s one of the most popular days for us. The sheriff read to his pet that day. I told my coordinators, ‘This is gonna be fun! It’s gonna be OUR day!’” Griffith enthused. “We always do it in November, and it’s fun for everybody.”

Teachers and coordinators send out information about Read To Your Pet Day, and on the designated day, the magic happens.

“That evening, those parents start taking pictures of the kids reading to their pets,” Griffith said. She posts all of the photos on their Facebook page.

“I’m uploading like a maniac. It’s the craziest night for Read Aloud. We had a horse this year! We’ve had ferrets, cats, dogs…a wide array of pets,” Griffith said. “But the main thing is this: the parents are involved. It’s fun for the child because Grandma, Grandpa, Mom and Dad are watching Billy and Sally read—it’s a family moment.”

Reading to horses, books at McDonald’s and football game book drives. All the norm for the out-of-the-ordinary Boone County Read Aloud organization.

Sara Busse is a long-time Charleston resident and community volunteer.

Image: Chris Connolly, a Boone County Chapter Board Member, poses with two McDonald’s Book Drive participants.

Reading Family OWL

OWL program encourages reading to babies and toddlers

A program launched by the Kanawha County Public Library is making it easier for families to read regularly to their preschoolers. The Open Worlds of Learning (OWL) program offers a simple way to check out a variety of age-appropriate books for children from birth to age three.

Parents and guardians age 18 and older may apply for an OWL card, receive a bag of ten books and keep them as long as they like. Once the books have been read, they can be exchanged for another bag of books. Since young children can be a bit rough on the books they love and explore, families are not charged for damaged books.

Currently 150 families are enrolled in the program and more than 3,000 books were checked out between the program’s inception in April and December. Terri Wooten, Kanawha County Public Library spokesperson reports, “The program has proven to be quite popular. Parents appreciate that they can check out a number of books at one time and can keep them as long as they like.”

This program aligns with one of the major goals of Read Aloud West Virginia: to encourage families to begin reading to children at birth. The benefits of reading to children are numerous. In addition to building a child’s vocabulary and attention span, a 2015 study cited by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) found: “Children from more stimulating home reading environments had greater activity in brain areas supporting narrative comprehension and visual imagery, which are important for both language and reading.”  The AAP issued a policy statement in 2014 recommending that physicians encourage families to read to their children from birth.

Image: Pictured above are Aaron Ku, Elaine Lau, Dolce Ku, Sarah Talkington, and Peng-Peng Wang. Credit to Kenny Kemp, Charleston Gazette-Mail.

 

Lunchtime reading a big hit

By Lesley McCullough McCallister

As first year Read Aloud West Virginia volunteer Patrick Ashton, Assistant Principal at Mountain Ridge Intermediate School in Gerrardstown, Berkeley County, was attending his Read Aloud training, he was so excited thinking about reading to one classroom that he began to contemplate how to reach his entire school. Then it hit him, the best time to reach as many students as possible at once—lunchtime!

Typically, on “Theater Thursdays” students were allowed to watch a movie during their lunch period. Building on that idea, Mr. Ashton believed Read Aloud sessions would be a fun instructional activity that also could be tied to the curriculum. During the fall semester, Mr. Ashton began weekly Read Aloud sessions for approximately 200 students during each of three lunch periods for the third, fourth and fifth graders.

The students’ positive feedback was immediate. “I had kids asking me multiple times every day if I could read every day,” said Mr. Ashton. “Even the boys were requesting!”

This semester he read Wonder to the fourth and fifth graders and noted when it got close to Christmas he read Christmas stories and poems and put Wonder on hold.

Just before the holiday break, Mr. Ashton was promoted and will not return as Assistant Principal in the new year. Thankfully, Principal Autumne Frye has agreed to continue the lunchtime Read Aloud sessions for the students.

When asked why reading to students is so important, Mr. Ashton explained, “Enjoyment, imagination, relevance, comprehension, fluency, decoding, phonemic awareness, etc. I could go on and on. Kids need to  see that adults are excited about reading. I especially wanted to do this Read Aloud with our students to promote the idea that men do like to read and it’s not just for girls/women. And although I’m far from ‘cool,’ I am very active in their lives and I wanted the kids to see that reading is not just a forced act inside the classroom. Reading is exciting and enjoyable.”

While he won’t be at Mountain Ridge full time in the future, Mr. Ashton hopes his new position will allow him the flexibility to come back and continue reading to the students on occasion. He also hopes the idea of lunchtime Read Aloud sessions spreads to other schools throughout the state.

Lesley McCullough McCallister is a Read Aloud supporter, volunteer reader, newsletter contributor and a freelance  journalist.

Christmas Carol 2 (002)

A Very Special Read Aloud Christmas Gift from Our Berkeley County Volunteers

Read Aloud and WEPM Radio proudly produced a special holiday event — a performance of “A Christmas Carol for Children to Read Aloud.” Read Aloud’s Berkeley County chapter performed a 30-minute version of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic designed for children to enjoy. Thanks to WEPM’s Hans Fogle for suggesting the project, directing the program, and for promoting Read Aloud!

Listen here

 

BB&T West Virginia Foundation helps put books in children’s hands

The BB&T West Virginia Foundation has awarded Read Aloud a $2,500 grant to support book distribution programs throughout the state. BB&T has provided similar financial support for several years, and the organization is grateful for the role they continue to play in helping Read Aloud maintain and expand its book distribution programs.

Sixty-one percent of low-income families do not have children’s books in the home, according to the Campaign for Grade Level Reading. Research has found that access to books is a critical factor in educational achievement. It is such a key element that researcher and California State University professor Jeff McQuillan concluded that “the only behavior measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the number of books in the home.”

Read Aloud West Virginia offers comprehensive, research-based programming designed to engage families, provide consistent “commercials” for reading in the classroom and increase student access to print. Distribution of books and other high-interest reading materials through events that engage children and families is integral to our efforts. Projects vary from county to county based on availability of funds and resources. Programs offered include:

Reading Round Up

Working in conjunction with public schools, volunteers distribute books, magazines and educational materials to students and parents participating in spring Kindergarten and Pre-kindergarten Round-ups (enrollment fairs attended by a majority of students entering kindergarten). Children choose their books from a selection of titles chosen for their age group.

Snuggle and Read

Preschool students and their families are invited to a program where they receive a blanket and books of their choice. A short presentation provides information about the importance of reading aloud to children and a parent’s role in education. Children hear a story read by a Read Aloud volunteer and educational materials are provided to families.

Summer Reading Initiative

This program provides six books to each student at a designated elementary school at the end of the school year. Ideally, the program is offered to students for a minimum of three years to maximize efficacy, as the effects of summer learning loss are cumulative. Children choose the books they receive from a list of titles selected by experts in the field of children’s literacy and an end-of-year event is held to distribute the books.

Distribution by Request

Read Aloud sponsors general distribution of new and used books as funding and availability permit. It is important to distribute books in a way that is meaningful to students and involves families in the process. All schools enrolled in Read Aloud are eligible to request books through this program. Schools often request books for distribution at family fun nights and other school-sponsored events.

BB&T West Virginia Foundation has been an indispensable partner to Read Aloud West Virginia’s Book Distribution Program. Since 2008, Read Aloud has grown to serve 30 county chapters. That growth brings additional opportunities to place books in the hands and homes of children. With BB&T West Virginia Foundation’s support, the organization can provide more children the tools they need to succeed in school and life.