It was the culmination of reading month for the virtual kindergarten through third grade students. All month, second and third graders had been voting on their favorite books along with their in-person classmates. The bracket pitted 16 books against each other much like the March Madness basketball tournament.
Teachers said the scavenger hunt was a fun way to get students excited about reading and it also tied into lessons about community leaders. Clues led families to eight different locations in the village of Middleville including local businesses, the police department, fire department, village government, and doctor and dentist offices. At each stop students scanned a QR code to watch a special video.
“I’ve enjoyed reading books my entire life. You have to read a lot of books to become a doctor,” said Dr. Chris Noah from his Middleville office.
Noah showed his childhood favorite book “Look Out for Pirates,” and offered this clue: “Books always win without a doubt. Head to the place where you can check them out. Remember Books Always Win!”
Dentist Brian McKeown shared his favorite book from childhood, “The Little Engine that Could.” He said he liked the book because it was “about one little train who through hard work and a positive attitude could succeed to help others when the other trains had failed.”
In each video, presenters shared either their favorite book as a child or a favorite book they read to their own children. Each presenter also showed one of the eight final books in the March Reading Madness competition being done by students at Lee Elementary and with the virtual students.
The last clue in the scavenger hunt led students to the TK School and Community Library where they were able to select new and donated books to keep.
Elementary student Sarah Sutherland arrived at the library with a huge smile on her face as she and her brother browsed prize books available to them. “My favorite part was being able to hang out with my Mom. We haven’t been able to see her very much because she works in health care.”
Her mom, Stephanie , said it was a very fun way to spend time with her kids. “They (her children) have been living with nana and papa since Thanksgiving. I work in health care and I’ve been trying to stay socially distanced to keep everyone safe,” she said. “This was a great way to spend the day together and I’m so glad we got to do it. It was so fun. It was one of the best assignments!”