Students hop from class to

class at GVES reading day

 

By Suzanne Dean 

Publisher

3-5-2020

 

GUNNISON—At least 200 parents, Gunnison Elementary School students and younger siblings listened to stories, participated in craft activities, bought books and received treats and prizes during the annual Reader Night on Monday.

For several years, the main organizer of the event has been Wendy Childs of Gunnison. She recruits volunteers and directs setup of activities.

The purpose of the event was to emphasize the fun and value of reading. As a quotation from Dr. Seuss, which is painted at the entrance to one of the classrooms at the school, put it:

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

During the evening, families rotated through several classrooms, where children listened to a story or made something in arts and crafts.

In one room, the overhead lights were turned off so the only light came from a lantern sitting on top of an ice chest; and some posts and lights were rigged up to look like a campfire.

Children sat on the floor as Staci Jackson of Centerfield, a parent volunteer, read a book titled “A Camping Spree with Mr. McGee.”

The book tells about a family who goes camping with a camp trailer. From the start, they run into misadventures. First they encounter a “stumbly, bumbly bear.” Later, they get high-centered at the top of a waterfall. Ultimately, they decide to go home and camp in their backyard.

In another classroom, Meg Childs, a volunteer and daughter of organizer Wendy Childs, read a story titled “It’s Not Easy to be a Bunny.”

The main character was about a bunny who thought he would be happier being a bear, a bird, a beaver, a pig or a moose, among other options. But in the end, he decided he was best being who he was. He went home, ate all his carrots and played with his bunny brothers and sisters.

After the story ended, Childs invited children to do a bunny hop and then to line up to receive a prize.

Another room contained tables where children strung together brown paper chains and then pasted puppy faces at the top of their chains.

Near the front door of the school, a scholastic book fair had been set up. Ann Sorensen, the school librarian, estimated the fair offered more than 1,000 books for sale. Each time parents checked out at the cash register, some of the proceeds went to the school library or classrooms.

Sorensen said typically, Reader Night brings into $1,000 to $1,200 for educational materials at the school.