‘Read and Treat’
Published 11:37 am Monday, November 13, 2017
AHOSKIE – This past Halloween, Roanoke-Chowan Community College hosted 42 children from Davis Kids College, Learning Unlimited, Hertford/Northampton Smart Start, Rehoboth Educational Services, Tim and Dee’s Honeybees, Dee & Tee’s Precious Angels Academy, and Learning Unlimited Child Care Center as part of the college’s annual Read-and-Treat program, which encourages literacy in young children.
Happy staff members greeted the children with candy and smiles as they toured the campus.
Children from local daycares look on as Bonnie Burkett, R-CCC Director of Library Services, narrates the puppet show being presented to the students during Read and Treat.
This year’s program was sponsored by the college’s Early Childhood Program and RCCC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society for the two-year College.
The children were ushered into the library where Dr. Stanley Elliott, president of Roanoke-Chowan Community College, performed a very enthusiastic reading of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle. Afterwards, each child was given a copy of this book, which had been donated to the Early Childhood Program by faculty, staff, and friends of R-CCC.
Immediately afterwards, as the children laughed along, Phi Theta Kappa performed two puppet plays, featuring a hungry dragon, a magical shark, a lazy fox, and other animals like orangutans and frogs. Following the puppet show, the children embarked on a tour of the campus, gathering treats and smiles from each office they visited.
According to Deboria Outlaw, an Early Childhood Instructor, childhood literacy is an important link to adult literacy.
R-CCC President Dr. Stanley Elliott reads to the children from local daycares during the Read and Treat activity held on Oct. 31.
“We know if we do not get children hooked on reading by the third grade, the likelihood of that child becoming an adult reader drops drastically, making it harder for that child to complete school and later getting and keeping a job,” Outlaw stated.
R-CCC students also embrace the mission of childhood literacy.
“Watching those children laugh and play along with puppets, that was just so much fun! There’s nothing like seeing kids smiling, laughing and using their imaginations along with us. It brightens the whole world,” said Demetria Williams, an RCCC student and mother of two children herself. “I’d love to do more puppet shows with children.”
For more information about the Read and Treat program, contact Audrey Moore, Lead Instructor of the Public Service programs at R-CCC, at aamoore5312@roanokechowan.edu, or call her at (252) 862-1317.