Hearty Congratulations to BookPAL LeRoy Mitchell, Jr., Hillsborough County Volunteer Award Winner!
It will be hard to fit on one page the positive impact Mr. Mitchell, from the Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s BookPALS: Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools program, has on our Kindergarten and first grade students. He dependably enters Essrig Elementary every Wednesday morning to visit three first grade classrooms, and Friday morning to visit seven Kindergarten classrooms with a cheerful grin and a boisterous greeting for all. I would be delighted to share how our young learners feel about Mr. Mitchell and in turn how he affects all of our lives, as he is an important member...
Read MoreReviving the Lost Art of Letters
Florida’s elementary students are reaping the benefits of old fashioned letter writing. PencilPALS, the SAG Foundation’s writing program, gives children firsthand experience with the lost art. Volunteers from SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild are paired with students and correspond by postal mail throughout the school year. Each pair is given a questionnaire to complete that generates ideas for first letters. After that, a correspondence evolves, with letters exchanged on topics ranging from favorite books and school happenings to long term aspirations. The project often starts...
Read MoreFlorida BookPALS Read Across America!
“Grab your Hat and Read with the Cat” during the month of March! BookPALS is a national co-sponsor of NEA’s read aloud project: Read Across America. Now in it’s 16th year, and in honor of Dr. Seuss’s Birthday on March 2nd, let’s get our favorite Seuss books out and Read, Read, Read to Florida’s children! Visit www.nea.org/grants/886.htm for ideas on how to celebrate with your classes. Don’t forget to take photos and share them with Natalie and the rest of...
Read MoreGo Fishing with BookPALS
“We are all fishing. All of us—teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, parents, volunteers—we all have our lines in the student pond. It doesn’t matter which one of us hooks them, just that one of us does.” ~Natalie Schaible Bookworms make excellent bait! Nothing quite compares to looking out upon a sea of smiling faces, bright eyes, and eager hands waving frantically in the air and knowing your words, borrowed from books though they may be, brought to life by reading aloud, are the cause of such amazing energy and excitement! Being a BookPAL is not a simple act. It’s an...
Read MoreFlorida BookPALS & PencilPALS in Action
Florida BookPALS & PencilPALS read and write to children from Tallahassee to Miami!
Read MoreCelebrating another great year of literacy volunteers!
Heartfelt thanks to all our volunteers and teachers for another successful school year! We have a new national Facebook page. Please keep in touch this summer and join our online community of volunteers by “liking” us and sharing your BookPALS and PencilPALS experiences, favorite books and photos at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/BookPALS/417960901571897 Thanks for being a prominent member of our literacy family! We are looking forward to a great 2012-13 school year. Enjoy your...
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