Reading to the Rhythm

One participant shows off her hatching egg and
egg maraca crafts.

Hello!  I'm Jessica Biernacki, a junior majoring in Agricultural Leadership Education. My internship this summer is with the Cook County Farm Bureau in Countryside, IL. I am the Ag in the Classroom intern, coordinating the Read the Rhythm summer library programs.

I have had a successful first half of the summer. Children in grades K-4 have attended programs that have been offered at their local libraries located throughout Cook County. This year's Read to the Rhythm Program gives children a fun way to learn about agriculture. So far our topics have included chickens/embryology, popcorn, and pigs.

The children having fun making their corn shakers after
learning about their state snack. (Popcorn)

During our programs the children learn about the agricultural topic through stories, games, and completing crafts (including a musical instrument) using the agricultural products that were learned about. Afterwards, the children are encouraged to check out related books. 

Some of our stories have included, April Foolishness by Teresa Bateman, The Popcorn Book by Tomie DePaola, and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. Our crafts have included, clucking chicken cups, egg maracas, hatching egg cutouts, corn shakers, and pig shakers. We have also played OINKO (piggy bingo) to learn about pigs and related vocabulary.

The upcoming program themes include pigs and space. We will be playing OINKO and making piggy shakers. The children will also sprout their own seeds in a CD case and observe how gravity effects their roots. 

Looking forward to my future programs!