February is the shortest month on the calendar, but you wouldn’t know it judging from our schedule–we packed a lot of literacy into this little month!
In celebration of World Read Aloud Day on February 1, ReadBoston went to the Orchard Gardens K-8 to read “Frederick’s Journey: The Life of Frederick Douglass.” The students, who are all recent immigrants from Cape Verde, engaged in a conversation about life in Cape Verde in comparison to living in the United States. This conversation is in preparation for students publishing their own biographies in the spring. 
On February 13th, ReadBoston supported the King K-8’s Family Literacy Night. Students listened to the story of “Lemonade in Winter”, a story of two siblings who have the spirit of entrepreneurship to have their own lemonade stand. The story prompted the students to discuss the concepts of financial literacy. We were glad to spend time with our friends participating in the Boston Saves program at the King!
Membership is growing in the Daddy & Me Literacy Program at the Hawthorne Youth & Community Center! This month we had our largest number of participants. Dads and grandfathers came to read with their children and we had a special guest provide coloring sheets of African American inventors. Our next meeting is on March 17 at 11am. Daddy & Me will be meeting at the Frugal Book Store, 57 Warren Street, Roxbury. We hope to see you there!
On February 15th, the P.A Shaw Elementary hosted an African American Read-In. ReadBoston visited and read “Philip Reid Saves the Statue of Freedom.” This book tells the story of how an enslaved man, Philip Reid, was able to solve the puzzle of casting the bronze statue called “Freedom” by knowing where to take apart the five piece model. The students engaged in a group discussion about what it was like to work in a foundry and had many questions about how statues are constructed.
During school vacation, ReadBoston helped to encourage young readers to read outside of school by organizing a February Vacation Book Bingo. Students complete literacy challenges on the Book Bingo Sheet for a chance to win prizes. Over 5,000 students from 19 Boston Public Schools signed up to participate. We are still waiting to see how many of those students got 5-in-a-row BINGO!
Also during school vacation, ReadBoston held an African American Read-In at the Allston Brighton CDC. Children listened to story of “Amistad: The Story of a Slave Ship” The read aloud sparked a great discussion about West African nations. After the read aloud, the children made origami bookmarks. In March we will be celebrating International Women’s Month with a workshop related to women in STEM.