“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
Rashi recently celebrated its 3rd annual Read Across America Day program by hosting 20 grandparents who volunteered to spend the day reading with our K-2 students.
Celebrated nationwide, Read Across America promotes reading in classrooms and libraries every year on (or near) March 2, which coincided with Dr. Seuss’ birthday. The holiday has evolved over the years; there is no right or wrong way to celebrate it, which turned into a creative opportunity for Rashi.
Three years ago, Elaine Paster, the former chairperson of Rashi’s Sheldon A. Cohen Grandparents Association and a former teacher, suggested that we start involving grandparents during Read Across America Day. This was a meaningful way to both connect grandparents to their grandchildren at Rashi and inspire a love of reading.
Faculty and staff at Rashi understand that grandparents have a powerful impact on the lives of their grandchildren, and they are very special members of our kehillah (community).
“We love this opportunity to connect our grandparents with our young students during the year,” said Amy Klotz, Assistant Director of Development at The Rashi School. “It’s hard to tell who enjoys the day more – our students or grandparents!”
Julie Koven Levine, Librarian at The Rashi School, couldn’t agree more. Julie said that over the past few years she’s noticed the children are now the ones who want to choose the books for their grandparents to read. “I’ve found that they really want to share their favorite books with their grandparents. Some of the kids even want to show off their reading skills and take turns reading the book they’ve chosen.”
This year’s top book picks for Kindergarten – Grade 2 included:
- Creepy Carrots! By Aaron Reynolds
- Alma and How She Got Her Name, by Juana Martinez-Neal
- Potato Pants, by Laurie Keller
- Malala’s Magic Pencil, by Malala Yousafzai
- A Sick Day for Amos McGee, by Philip C. Stead
Grandparents were invited to join Kabbalat Shabbat with students at the end of the day. Grandparent, Margie Berkowitz, read The Sneeches, by Dr. Seuss, to the lower school children as an extra tribute.
There’s no doubt that both our students and grandparents enjoy this special day, year-after-year, promoting literacy and love of reading. Just look at the photos from our 2019 Read Across America Day below and see for yourself!
