HIGH POINT, N.C., Nov. 14, 2014 – Education majors from High Point University surprised children at Kirkman Park Elementary with books and blankets just as cold weather rushed into the Piedmont Triad.
The HPU students visited classrooms on Nov. 12 to read stories to the Kirkman Park students. They offered each child a copy of the book afterward, along with a blanket to keep warm. The program was made possible through a grant from the Walmart Foundation, which Debbie Albert, clinical instructor in HPU’s School of Education, applied for in order to benefit a local school.
“I know when I read, I really like to curl up with a blanket,” HPU senior Peyton Kirks told the fifth graders she visited. “I hope you’ll all do the same when you read your book.”
“This was an excellent surprise,” said Phyllis Marshall, who teaches fifth grade at the school. “Some of our students have many siblings and don’t have things they can call their own, but they can call these blankets and these books their own. Especially as the cold weather nears, this event was very important.”
The event is one of many ways the School of Education reaches out to local teachers and children.
“I wanted my students to have the opportunity to spread the joy of reading,” said Albert. “The Book and Blanket program is designed to give each child the joy and comfort realized from curling up with their own book and blanket. If children do not experience the joy and purpose of reading, the many tasks for which we labor over in the classrooms each day will be a futile attempt in the goal of creating proficient, lifelong readers.”