The second week of the children's reading program at the Union Mills Learning Center was EXCITING! We started the morning with a visit from the Hudlow Volunteer Fire Department. The two fire fighters gave the children a tour of the entire truck, which was educational, as well as fun. They concluded the tour by letting all the children sit in the truck and some of our brave young readers even sat in the driver's seat. The visit was topped off by a show of lights and the piercing sound of sirens and all the children got a fireman's hat! After all the excitement, we settled down in the gazebo for poems and stories about fire fighters, fire trucks and Clifford, the Fire Dog.
Attendance was up 17% to 14 children ranging from age 2 to 14. All received free books, once again, and some of the parents visited the reading room and got a book for themselves. We have now handed out about 50 books to young readers in our community. We ended the reading portion of the morning with cookies from Munchie Town Bakery. We were also treated with doughnuts brought by M.A. Andrews, who covered the event for The Rutherford Weekly. Look for the story next week (I hope).
Next week, we will feature patriotic poems and stories as we get ready for Independence Day. We are lining up visits from "The Goat Lady", Beverly Kalinowski, who is organizing the Dairy Goat Parade in Spindale, as well as a visit from some rescue lamas and their caretaker, Lynette Melton of Chinquapin Ridge Farm in Union Mills.
Even with this being the holiday week, we had 14 children in attendance on Wednesday, six of which were new to the program, when we featured a little history on Independence Day. We started the morning with the Pledge of Allegiance, with every child receiving a printed copy, and then sang our National Anthem, after which we read about how Francis Scott Key came to write it. We (Barbara Evans and I) read aloud stories about the holiday and wrapped things up with cookies and juice boxes provided by Christine Ammons.
Jean Gordon from the Daily Courier contacted me and will plan to attend on July 22, when Helen Moore and her llama will be visiting.
We are having little goats come out this Wednesday, July 8. and Beverly Kalinowski will be reading "The Goat Lady" to the children. She is promoting the Dairy Goat Parade coming to Spindale next year. It should be fun!
July 8
Attached are a couple of photos from the goats' visit to the reading program. The lady with the goat is Nance Wolff, who was kind enough to bring them.
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Marlin, Norman Moore (the author's husband) and Floyd with the reading program children. |
Cocoa, rescue llama | Helen being introduced to the group by Loyce Broughton. | Bradley Lail read "Llama, Llama, Mad at Mama | Emilie Rhoads, a regular at the program this summer, read "Is Your Mama A Llama |
The llamas were there on Wednesday, July 22. Author Helen Moore read her book "Trek with Floyd" and brought two of her llamas, Floyd, who is the star of her book, and Marlin. Kim and Lynette Melton, of the Southeast Llama Rescue based in Union Mills, brought one of their rescue llamas, Cocoa.
July 29,2009
click on photo to see larger image
Jana Gilbert, of Dancin' Stars Studio in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, performed for the children's summer reading program at the Union Mills Learning Center. Click here to see the video.
