Community Development Director Peter J. Miller reads to students Nov. 20. (Photo by Amy Porter)
WESTFIELD – Fifty volunteers from the Westfield community, including the Westfield State University hockey team, local business people, parents and school administrators visited the six Westfield elementary schools on Wednesday, Nov. 20 as part of the Reach Out And Read (ROAR) program.
Organized by Volunteers in Public Schools (VIPS) coordinator Tina Macy, the readers brought new books donated by Shurtleff Children’s Services and read them to children in grades 3, 4 and 5, before presenting the books to the schools for their libraries.
Westfield Community Development Director Peter J. Miller volunteered to read to Deborah Florek’s third grade class at Highland Elementary School.
Miller’s book was “Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs” by Mo Willems, a familiar author to the students in the class and to Miller, who said he has a kindergartener, third and fourth grader at Munger Hill, and knows their books. Willems, who began his career as a writer for Sesame Street, also wrote “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!”
Before reading, Miller asked the students what the story is usually called, and they noted that usually Goldilocks visits the house of the three bears. In this case, the dinosaurs were hoping Goldilocks would come, and not in a good way; and they put out chocolate pudding to entice her.
Goldilocks caught on that dinosaurs were nearby, and got safely out of the house. The two lessons in the book were not to enter a stranger’s home, and to lock your doors!
The students, who were completely engaged in the reading, then searched the pages with Miller to find any pigeons. They found three.
The next ROAR event will take place in the spring, when volunteers will read to students in kindergarten through second grade. Anyone who wants to volunteer may contact Macy at 413-572-6345 or by email at [email protected].
