KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Keesler Child Development Center children and staff celebrated Read Across America Week Feb. 29 to March 4.
Kicking off its 19th year, children, educators and parents from across the country, U.S. territories and military installations around the world spent the week honoring not only Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, but also the power of reading.
“Read Across America Week is held to promote reading to children,” said Debbie Hendricks, CDC child and youth program technician. “It’s also a good experience for the adults because they get to participate by reading to the children.”
Keesler CDC educators were able to use different themes from beloved Dr. Seuss books to help motivate their students from the ages of 6 weeks to 5 years old to read.
“Each day we celebrated Dr. Seuss by having different themes for each day, like wacky tacky hair day and wacky sock or shoe day,” said Missy Whidby, CDC child and youth program assistant. “The children, teachers and even parents were encouraged to participate by wearing different things for each theme.”
Along with reading, the CDC also held a Wacky Tacky Hat Parade to help bring the children together to show their spirit for Dr. Seuss. Each room also competed in the Dr. Seuss door decorating contest.
“Each class made a board or a game to show outside their classroom door dedicated to a Dr. Seuss book,” said Whidby. “Our class chose to make a ‘Ten Apples Up On Top’ game where the kids can peel the apples off the board and toss them at the board to make it look like the front of the book.”
No matter what time of year, the Keesler CDC makes reading a major part of each child’s school curriculum by reading each day.
“We read to our kids multiple times each day,” said Whidby. “The children always have opportunities to read even if we aren’t having reading time with the whole class.
“Read Across America is not only good for the children but also for the adults. Any time reading is being promoted is good for the children especially if the children see an adult that they admire reading to them.”