St. Gregory kindergartners, eighth-graders team up for reading
ZELIENOPLE — Eighth-grader Anna Stumm points out a difficult word in a Dr. Seuss book to the small group of kindergartners surrounding her in the gymnasium of St. Gregory Catholic School.
“We do this every week,” Anna said, helping kindergartner Brayden Fedorka sound out the letters.
Anna is one of 19 eighth-grade students who work with the St. Gregory kindergarten class on a regular basis as part of the school’s Book Buddies program. Older students read books to younger students and listen to the kindergartners reading back to them in return.
“Usually, what happens is the kindergartners will read their readers to the eighth-graders,” kindergarten teacher Marianne McElree explained. “Then, the eighth-graders will read a bigger book for them.”
The program connects older student “buddies” to younger children, and helps the younger students practice their reading skills.
“I like getting to see our Book Buddies,” kindergartner Heidi Ofori said. “I think it’s fun.”
On Tuesday, students worked on a St. Patrick’s Day-themed activity — writing stories about catching a mischievous leprechaun.
“They were going to draw a picture of a leprechaun trap, and what they were going to do is have their buddies help them give the directions of what happened first, what happened next, and what happened last,” McElree said. “They did a really nice job on it.”
The Book Buddies program was paused for the past two years during COVID-19 due to spacing issues, but it has restarted at St. Gregory school over the past several months.
“Before the pandemic, we used to do it all the time,” McElree said. “It’s nice. They get to know their buddies, and they walk around. They’ll see them at Walmart, and they’ll say ‘hi’ to each other.”
The program also helps engage younger children with the process of reading.
“If the child is reading, it gives something back to them — you know, sound it out,” she said. “They’ve all been through kindergarten, so they sort of remember. It’s a buddy through school, and it helps the little kids feel like they belong.”
