Sharing the joy of reading was a special treat for kindergarteners at Willow School who got visits from James Hart School’s eighth graders.
Throughout the day Dec. 20, groups of eighth graders were in classrooms reading to the youngest students. After the stories were read, coloring pages were handed out and the little ones got busy.
Hart teacher Chris Blankenship said about 75 junior high students were selected to come to Willow for this exchange. The eighth graders chose books from the library to read to the kids.
The program was designed to instill camaraderie between the youngest and oldest students in the district.
“It’s a way for them (eighth graders) to just go back to where they came from, and to give the little kids the reason to keep going to get to James Hart,” the teacher said. He was proud of the eighth graders for their story telling efforts. Blankenship finds programs like this let teachers see the maturity and caring in the teens.
