Elementary students created their own wockets, wrote their own silly rhymes and got crafty, Dr. Seuss style.
For the first year, the Fleetwood High School Future Business Leaders of America teamed up with Andrew Maier Elementary School on March 2, National Read Across America Day, to honor the birthday of Dr. Seuss by reading his books and creating Seuss-themed crafts.
From 2:45 p.m. until school let out at 3:30 p.m., kindergarteners and first graders were reading “The Cat in the Hat” and creating cat masks, while second graders read “There is a Wocket in My Pocket” and made their own wockets to go in pockets they laced themselves. Third graders read “Green Eggs and Ham” and put rhyming egg puzzles together. They also drew pictures of themselves eating their favorite foods and created rhymes to go with their pictures.
“It’s completely brand new this year,” said FBLA Advisor Kelly Ackerman. “It was just something that, for the past few years, I always see all the stuff about Read Across America after it takes place, so I finally saw it this year prior to and took it to my FBLA officers.”
Ackerman was not expecting a big turnout from the high school students due to after-school activities, but she was happy that about 20 students decided to participate.
“They all wanted to do something with it,” she said. “A lot of these things don’t always bring a lot of kids out, but this is one thing they all really liked. It started with two or three teachers being interested, and now we have a ton of classrooms, too.”
Amanda Meck, an 11th grade FBLA student, initiated the event by contacting Andrew Maier Principal Chris Redding.
“I told her [Ackerman] I would gladly contact Mr. Redding because I already know him,” said Meck. “It was kind of a last minute thing, but we spent a lot of time within the past week planning it out.”
The Seuss-themed activities were a hit with the students.
In Stephanie Ulrich’s third grade classroom, the kids were elated to create their own rhymes.
“My favorite part is that all our rhymes are going to go into a book, and we’re going to read it,” said third-grader Jace Brooks. “I know reading is important because it helps us better when we’re adults.”
Third-graders created silly rhymes about their favorite foods like “fries with flies” and “chips in dips” to go into the book.
“They each got to do a page,” said Ulrich. “I’ll bind it, and we’ll have our own class book. It will go into our library, and I’m sure it will be their favorite to read.”
Ulrich was impressed by the willingness of the high school students to come help the kids, calling it a “great mentoring experience” for everyone.
“I think it’s wonderful that they are involved,” she said. “I think it shows that they value reading, so it’s like their peers in a way. I mean, they’re older, but still like peers because they are in the same district. The kids think it’s really cool they are from the high school.”
When asked if this type of activity will happen next year, Ackerman and Principal Redding both agreed that the students were all engaged and enjoyed themselves.
“It turned out awesome,” Principal Redding said.
“My students seemed to really enjoy it, and everyone had a good time, so hopefully we can keep it going and maybe expand or do it a little differently next year,” said Ackerman. “It’s the high school students giving back to the kids, and it’s great for everyone involved.”