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The MAAE advocates for arts in education for all
students in Mississippi. Our October work with Literacy
Through Arts involved partnering with JumpStart and
the National Read for the Record Program. The book this
year was Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna
Dewdney. In September, every Board member received a copy
of the book to read and distribute to children all over
Mississippi. We are excited to report that 6877
Mississippi children experienced the book and arts
experiences during the month. Please celebrate with us
as we tell the stories in words and pictures.
Dr. Evon Kincaid, JSU Professor
and Linda Wilson, MAAE President-Elect, along with 10
Jackson State University (JSU) students, one other JSU
professor, and two community leaders shared Llama
Llama Red Pajama with 250 first and second
graders at Canton School of the Arts & Sciences. They shared
visual arts activities with the students, and each student
was given a cutout picture of Baby Llama to take home. Each
class received a copy of the book, thanks to a Book
Sponsorship from MAAE.
Jodie
Engle,
MAAE Member and Director of WSI, and USM staff read
to 80 children in the Giraffe's Pre-K class and other
classes at University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for
Childhood Development. She used Project Zero’s Perceive
(What do you see? What do you think? What do you wonder?)
with the cover of the book. Then they read the book, and
added in some call/response/movements the second time.
Finally she led theater warm-ups and a group experience with
getting ready for bed.
Kathryn
Lewis, MAAE Member,
and Daisha Walker, MAAE Board Member, coordinated 30
volunteers to read to a total of 1148 pre-K students in
South Mississippi, including Stone County, Harrison County,
and Jackson County, providing interactive drama experiences
to bring the story to life. Books for each class were
provided by a Sponsorship from MAAE.
Dr.
Miriam Wahl, MAAE Ex Officio Board Member,
and volunteers read to 450 children in every K-2 classroom
at
Senatobia Elementary School. The arts activity consisted of
making a paper quilt for Baby Llama to cover up. The quilt
making involved a short math integration exercise (shape,
pattern, multiplying) as well.
Megan
Hines
and
MacKenzie Stroh, MAAE Board Members, and three
volunteers read to 270 children in 12 Pre-K to 2nd grade
classrooms at Riverside Elementary School in Avon,
Mississippi, in Washington County. Following the story, they
worked with sock puppets to reenact the story to reflect how
the characters were feeling. The students were amazed at how
easy it was to turn the socks into characters, and they
loved reading the book from the Llama Llama series that they
have also seen in their school library.
Dr.
Sallie Harper, Interim Chair at MSU-Meridian’s Department of
Education and Ex Officio MAAE Board Member,
read Llama Llama Red Pajama at their
October faculty meeting, and then provided each faculty
member with a copy to share with their college students and
young children. As a result, a total of 400 children
experienced the book and interactive arts activities.
Dr. Penny
Wallin, Executive Director of MAAE and Assistant Professor
of Educational Leadership, MSU-Meridian,
shared this year’s book with members of the Mississippi
State University Leadership Cohort. From their joint
efforts, 500 children were able to participate in the Early
Literacy experience with Llama Llama Red Pajama
in the Meridian and Laurel areas.
Tito Lanier, principal at Oak Park Elementary School in
Laurel and MAAE Executive Committee Board Member,
coordinated the reading of Llama Llama Red Pajama
to 250 students in grades Pre-K to 2. A picture from the
book was enlarged and placed outside the library on a big
bulletin board. Students wrote and drew pictures of a person
that they loved. “Our students LOVED this book. They are
still saying, ‘can we read it again?!!’ ”
Andrea Coleman, MAAE Ex Offico Member and Executive Director
of MMEA,
read to 65 children in the Pre-K and K classes at St.
Anthony Catholic School in Madison. She used the familiar
tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to sing the text
of Llama Llama Red Pajama. She then
created a new verse to use as an interlude with the students
to bridge it all together.
Mark
Brown, MAAE board president,
along with Julie Brown and Judy Prine read to
140 children at South Jones Elementary, Kids Kingdom Early
Childhood Center and Jones Community Junior College Early
Childhood Development Center. Students completed a visual
arts activity to go along with the story.
Shannon
Frost, MAAE Financial Officer,
read to 25 3rd graders at Casey Elementary School
in Jackson. Students got on their feet and dramatized the
story following the reading.
Gloria Johnson, MAAE Board Member,
read to 20 exceptional education students at Magnolia Middle
School in Meridian. The students then created a book jacket.
A copy of the book was given to the classroom.
Dr. Dot
Dot Kalehoff, friend of MAAE and mother of Executive
Director Dr. Penny Wallin,
read to 27 grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends,
acting out the parts multiple times in her family room.
Kim
Whitt, Ex Officio Board Member, and Jodie Engle, MAAE Member,
used Llama Llama Red Pajama at the MAC
Whole School Institute Cluster Meeting in Tupelo, Jackson
and Laurel, where MDE Visual and Performing Arts Senior
Educational Specialist and MAAE Ex Officio Board Member
Limeul Eubanks became Baby Llama. One hundred and
twenty seven educators participated in an arts integration
experience to take back to their classrooms and schools so
many children could receive this literacy through arts
opportunity. If each teacher shared this story with only a
single classroom, the number was 3,175 and who knows how far
the ripple expanded.
Other
MAAE members reported reading to small groups of children in
homes, Mother’s Day Out groups, and church gatherings to add
an additional 77 children. |
