Girl scout silver award ceremony invitation

Jillian — Troop 50237, Forked River

Kaylee — Troop 50237, Forked River

Rebecca — Troop 50237, Lanoka Harbor

Zoey — Troop 50237, Lanoka Harbor

Our project was targeted at encouraging a love of reading in early childhood. Our school district recently shifted what grades are in which buildings and we now have a school that is entirely a kindergarten and preschool building. The library had been gutted and there was not much in there for the kids to use and enjoy. Our idea was to create a camp-themed reading nook in the school library where the students could ¨read¨ to stuffed animals, building their confidence. 

In speaking with Mrs. Donohoe, the school principal, she loved the idea of a camp-themed reading nook with reading buddies and wanted to incorporate it as a station for kindergarten students in library class. The nook accommodates five children at a time (although we left extras of everything, so they could maximize it up to 8) as they rotate through the days´ activities. Mrs. Donohoe did not want a collection of books at this time; however, she was interested in having a tipi that would house the stuffed ¨buddies¨ and the seating cushions.

Kids will go inside the tipi, pick a cushion and a buddy, and sit outside the tipi around the stuffed campfire to read to their buddy. We explored the issue, worked with school administration, and then built a tipi, sewed floor cushions for each child to space out on, collected stuffed animals with the help of the community, and decorated the final project once installed.