A Flemish Giant rabbit was perfectly content to lie out in the sun, as first-, second- and third-graders at Edneyville Elementary recently read aloud to him and stroked his soft fur.
Nearby, Maggie the baby pig sat in the lap of a student while she read, and a goat unsuccessfully tried to chew the pages of Charlotte’s Web.
The Barnyard Bandits 4-H Club brought the pig, the goat, two rabbits, a few horses, a cow, a rooster and a tortoise to Edneyville on Thursday, for students in the state-funded Read to Achieve summer camp to read to and pet.
The RTA Camps are designed to help students who need a little extra help with reading skills over the summer, in preparation for their next grade level requirements.
“We’re giving them the extra support to allow them to achieve reading success at grade level,” said Benita Rudi, lead teacher at Edneyville.
This summer, Rudi said, “We’re doing a thematic unit study. Our overarching theme is North Carolina.”
In upcoming weeks of camp, students will build tents along the school’s nature trail with their parents during the “Mountains” thematic unit, and visit the Henderson County Heritage Museum when learning about “local” North Carolina. The camp will culminate with a unit on the state’s Coastal Plain region, and a fun water day at the school.
On Thursday, though, the visit from the 4-H animals coincided with the students’ concentration on North Carolina’s Piedmont region – and also served to boost their reading confidence as students practiced.
“I think it’s beneficial to read to live creatures because they feel that connection,” Rudi said. “But (the students) are also experiencing reading without judgment or critiquing,” she said. “They’re a little more confident.”
Check out more photos on HCPS’s Facebook album.
(Written by Molly McGowan Gorsuch, HCPS Public Information Officer.)