SHICKSHINNY, Pa. — Despite the presence of the big bad wolf, a giant, camels, and her royal highness, it's quiet inside the library at Northwest Primary School in Huntington Township as students escape into fairy tale lands by reading books.
"Camp Read A Lot is an opportunity for kids to learn about whatever. The theme this year is fairy tales. And a lot of times, kids have not even heard some of these fairy tales, so they're all excited," said kindergarten teacher Molly Sidoti.
In the library, teachers, staff, and members of the parent/teacher organization built structures around the reading tents to transform them to match this year's camp theme.
"The houses are from different fairy tales," explained first grader Mayze Gronel. "The Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel."
And there's Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, and more.
The gingerbread house is second grader Jackson Homnick's favorite.
"It looks nice. It has like gingerbread people on it, and it's built out of cardboard."
"It's almost like you can go in the book, see what it's like. This is almost like it, but not actually. It's just tents and what people did," said second-grader Addison Kivler.
Students are encouraged to dress up and are talking fairytales in the library and in the classroom, where they are building bridges strong enough to hold the Gingerbread Man.
Later in the week, activities include a scavenger hunt and a magician to fuel the children's imagination and inspire them to open up a book this summer.
"We encourage them to read throughout the year," Sidoti said. "But then, when the summer comes, there are so many things to do. So, we encourage them that they can read outside. They can read to their stuffed animals. They could read to their pets. They can read anytime, even though our class is not in session."
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