Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Reading to children

I agreed to read to a classroom of children today, Dr. Seuss' birthday. When I arrived at the school, I saw that many volunteers had signed up to read to the littlest kids (K, 1st grade, etc), but none for the older kids (5th graders). So I signed up for 5th grade, being contrary that way, I suppose.

Our reading choices were of course the works of Dr. Seuss. I picked up The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.

As I walked down the hallway, I wondered how these sophisticated "big kids" would react to being read a Dr. Seuss book. I had deliberately picked one of greater length and more depth than most of the good doctor's works. I know little children love funny voices, hand gestures, etc, when being read to. But 5th grade? It has been a long time since I was that age, and I have not been blessed with children of my own. So what do I know about the mind of a fifth grader?

I read the book to them, changing my tone for the various characters but not getting overly silly about it. I had fun. I hope they enjoyed it, too.

2 comments:

Chase March said...

Hi ECD,

I'm sure the kids enjoyed it. I know that my students love every time we receive a guest in our classroom. And if you had fun, they probably did too. Good job!

molly said...

I like listening to someone read Dr Seuss and I'm a grownup. Well, in appearance at least....So I'm sure the kids loved it, especially those for whom it was a rare treat. I feel bad for kids whose parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, someones don't read to them. Glad you volunteered---they're all little kids under the cool exterior!