Today was “Read Across America Day”aka “Dr. Seuss Day” (although many of the books volunteers read were not by Seuss).

I volunteered to read two Dr. Seuss books (“Oh! The Places You’ll GO!” and “Horton Hears a Who”) at Shining Mountain Elementary in Spanaway WA.

We had a blast!

Amy Ulen reported on my Facebook page that, at another school, she read Dr. Seuss’s book about Bartholomew Cubbins and the oobleck, another of my favorite Seuss books. She says she hurt her voicebox (temporarily) doing all the different voices in that one.

I might have had the same experience had I gotten the chance to read the Horton book, but the first third grade class chose The Places You’ll Go. Afterward, they  wanted to hear me read Horton, too, but we were only given fifteen minutes in each place, so I left Horton with the teacher; he said he would read it to them  and then give it to the librarian, Bev Rary, for the library to have on hand.

I scrambled to my next assignment, only to find the volunteer reader there just two thirds (if that) of the way through her book so, by the time she finished and headed out, I was left just enough time to read “OH! The Places You’ll Go” again and answer a few questions.  I donated my copy of that book to the library, too. (Shining Mountain is a Title 1 school, so they are resource poor and every donated book  — even if slightly used, which mine weren’t; I bought them just for this occasion — helps immensely.)

The school librarian is having a silent auction tomorrow night to get more money for books and other resources. It starts at 6 p.m.  There are a lot of very nice baskets on offer for the event. I hope they get a huge turnout. You can donate to the school by following the link above. I hope you will.  Every single dollar will help!

The kids were beautiful.  They were well-behaved, keenly tuned in, and respectful.  Their faces have not yet fallen, so their hopes are still high. I hope every last one of them succeeds beyond their wildest dreams. I just loved ’em all.  I think there were about 15 kids in the first class and perhaps 20 in the second one.  Those are decent size classes. The teachers can get to know and learn how to help and encourage that many young ones. Larger classrooms have a harder time of that, I imagine.

I would like to return and be given more time to share my story and encourage them to pursue their goals with intent and passion. I know they can succeed as long as they don’t give up and settle for less.

I saw Jay Brower briefly twice in passing.  It’s always good to see him.  He was a guest on EVER NEW a short time ago.  Fascinating guy with amazing images of his many adventures!  You can catch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58U4IvQF8WA