Eighth Graders Organize "Basket of Books" Campaign
Fall/Winter Community Service Effort Provides Books to Head Start Families
Launch the media gallery 1 playerHead Start families enjoyed a new basket full of books over the holidays, thanks to a generous and thoughtful group of eighth grade students.
Wahoo Middle School eighth graders Taylor Homes and Jacey Sutton helped organize “basket of books” this past fall and winter, culminating in the eighth graders visiting the Head Start classrooms on December 21 to present books to each child.
Dividing their time between two Head Start rooms and kindergarten, the eighth grade students spent nearly an hour reading the new books with the students.
The books, all new or gently used, were donated throughout the fall and winter.
Money was also raised throughout the middle school with a “tape John to the wall” fundraiser. Tape was sold in three-foot lengths for one dollar.
Homes and Sutton said about the fundraiser, “He (John Anderson) hung there for a while,” due to the amount of tape middle school students purchased. A bake sale was also held to raise money to purchase the baskets and some of the books.
Homes and Sutton said her favorite part of reading to preschoolers was “interacting with them,” and “hearing what they had to say.”
The one to two months spent collecting books at the middle school was worth it in the eyes of the staff at Head Start. Even though the book collecting took longer than the eighth graders initially thought, the gift they gave to our students was priceless!
The best thing parents can do to help their children learn to read is to spend time reading with their children, and through the efforts of our middle school friends, our preschool students are getting a head start on the road to reading.
If you are interested in volunteering in a Head Start classroom, please contact Elementary Principal and Head Start Director Jane Wiebold at 443-4250.