Read Across Enders celebrates books, authors

What do sand art, an escape room, boat-building and airbrushing T-shirts have in common? They were among the many hands-on activities in which Enders-Salk students participated during the seventh annual Read Across Enders Day March 24.

Throughout the morning students rotated to three stations where they read a book and then participated in a related game, activity or craft. The primary grades read picture books at their stations, while the intermediate grades read part of a chapter book or a non-fiction book to get students excited about checking it out of the library.

For instance, students built and tested boats that were designed to hold the most possible weight after reading an excerpt from "Stranded"; made sand art after reading "Peanut Butter and Jellyfish"; created rainbow art after reading "Roy G. Biv: An Exceedingly Surprising Book About Color"; worked together on an "escape room" activity after reading a portion of "Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library"; and airbrushed T-shirts after reading about graffiti.

Read Across Enders was conceived as an Olympic Day/Field Day for reading - an opportunity to celebrate authors and books through a variety of activities and get students excited about reading, said Learning Resource Teacher Katie Montalbano, who organizes the event.

"It's a full day of literacy, learning, math and science," Montalbano said, adding that a number of parent volunteers assisted with the day's activities.

In the afternoon students played book bingo, making their own cards, and staff participated in Battle of the Books. Enders' Battle of the Books for students will begin after spring break.