Barton Community College early childhood education students will lead activities for children participating in the observance of Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Week Nov. 16 at the Great Bend Public Library.
The college and the State Library of Kansas are co-sponsoring the event set from 1:45 to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the library, 1409 Williams. This year, Kansas Reads to Preschoolers Week focuses on food, nutrition and where food comes from.
Katherine Ayres, author of the children’s book “Up, Down, and Around!” will read her book to the children from 2:05 to 2:30 p.m. and will meet with teachers and parents from 2:30 to 3 p.m. while Barton’s early childhood students do activities with the children.
The School Library Journal commends Ayres’ book “Up, Down, and Around!” as an introduction to planting and prepositions. In the story, two children help plant a garden, and learn that some vegetables grow underground, some shoot up above it, and some grow on vines that twine around.
Ayres, a writer of children’s literature, began writing for children in the 1990s. She is a former teacher and elementary school principal who now coordinates the Chatham University Master of Fine Arts Program in Children’s and Adolescent Writing. Originally from Ohio, she earned her bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and her master’s from Tufts University in Boston.
To register for this free Kansas Reads to Preschoolers event, contact Barton’s Early Childhood Education instructor Cheryl Couch, 620-786-1130, or send an e-mail to couchc@bartonccc.edu. Give your name and the number planning to attend.