Literacy Day at Barkai Yeshivah

Barkai Yeshivah strives for excellence by fostering a love of learning in their children. Thus they have implemented an annual Literacy Day to instill that love of reading in their children. It is delightful to watch the children eagerly listening to stories, their bright eyes demonstrating that reading is fun.

The doors to Barkai Yeshivah opened one Sunday, recently, to  hundreds of attendees, greeted by dozens of flags from around the world, indicating the international theme for this year’s Literacy Day. The international theme was reflected in the books and projects chosen for the day’s program. In each of seven rooms, a book was read to the children followed by a hands-on project for each child to complete. The projects ranged from making rain sticks to decorating paper fans to basket weaving. The children moved from workshop to workshop anxiously anticipating the next book.

One of the highlights of this year’s Literacy Day was that the sixth grade girls coordinated one workshop from beginning to end. The workshop was handled smoothly and efficiently, especially considering the great number of attendees.

Though the book readings and projects kept the children quite busy, between workshops there was an opportunity to interact with over 20 live exotic animals. The animals included chinchillas, snakes, ferrets and many others and an expert was present to answer questions and demonstrate how to safely handle the animals.

Throughout the day, the lunchroom was set up with various community vendors displaying their merchandise in a small Hanukah boutique show.  The final performance, by Musical IQ, involved the audience in performing African music and demonstrated how important it is to work cohesively to produce rhythm and music. This was a great way to end a fabulous day.

Literacy Day began as a small event for a few children and has blossomed into a community-wide event reaching hundreds of children. We can instill a love of reading in our children by demonstrating that reading is fun. With this year’s Literacy Day, Barkai Yeshivah furthered the pursuit of this goal. Hope to see you there next year!