Feeding young minds a feast of knowledge

Minneota Elementary Principal Jennifer Mahan-Deitte has served up a reading course in February for "I Love to Read" Month, quenching the thirst of young minds, while feeding their intellect.
Mahan-Deitte read poems and books online via Zoom to any children and their families who wanted to listen at 7 p.m. each Monday in February and even into this past Monday, March 1.
"We were so limited to activities to plan because of COVID," she explained. "I was thinking of a way in which we could immerse the kids in reading without coming together. Zoom is a very helpful platform to reach out to students and their families."
The results were positive with as many as 25 different families signed in at the same time with an average of two or three listening in each household; or 50-75 on average per week.
"I read a poem first and then I'll read a book," Mahan-Deitte said. "I would say it's not necessarily geared toward the older kids, but I try to read something for all ages, from pre-school to sixth grade."
The poems come from the popular "Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Poetry" by Mary O'Neill. Some of the books that she has read are generally entertaining for all ages such as "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss, "Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee" by Chris Van Dusen, and "A Fine, Fine School" by Sharon Creech.
Minneota Superintendent Dan Deitte was a guest reader one week and the book he read was "Miss Spider's Tea Party" by David Kirk.
Each week, Mahan-Deitte would send a link to all the parents of elementary students in case they wanted to be a part of the reading program that week. As she read, Mahan-Deitte could see each of the families on her computer in thumbnail form. Experts say reading is beneficial for a myriad of reasons. Among them is that it improves vocabulary, comprehension, memory, school progress, analytical skills, writing skills, focus and concentration, while also developing critical thinking skills.
"Reading is so important for everyone," Mahan-Deitte echoed.