THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 22, 1994 TAG: 9407200153
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 8B EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
LORI ECHAVARIA is making sure her children don't have a boring summer. Every Wednesday she takes them to a different foreign country.
``Most parents just stick their children in front of the TV in the summer, but this teaches them something,'' she said.
Echavaria regularly takes her 7-year-old and 2 1/2-year-old daughters, plus the 11-year-old girl she baby-sits, to the ``Cruise the World With Cooke'' summer program.
Held every Wednesday from 2 to 3 p.m. in the W.T. Cooke Elementary School auditorium, the eight-week program is bringing in more than 60 youngsters each week.
Organized and begun by third-grade teacher De Garvey and PTA vice president Cathy Rittenhouse, the summer story-telling program focuses on a different country every week.
Children are learning about American Indians, as well as the cultures of China, Kenya, Ireland, Russia, Haiti, Mexico and Ecuador. They are issued passports, which are stamped when they enter and exit the featured country each week.
``We have a very diverse population here at Cooke, as far as cultures go, so we thought it would be an interesting way to learn about other countries,'' said Garvey.
She said when she asked for faculty volunteers to serve as tour guides for the summer program, ``the response was awesome. We had people volunteer who we don't normally think of as reading to children - the male physical education teacher, the music, speech and learning disabled teachers.''
Cheryl Sparks, who teaches children with learning disabilities, eagerly volunteered to come in during her summer off and talk about Kenya.
She dressed in a native African caftan and talked with the children about a plaintain (a banana native to Africa) she brought along.
``I have a great interest in Africa, and I'm the sponsor of the school's culture club. I collect African and African-American dolls and statues, and we have a batik from my husband's tribe,'' Sparks said.
On a recent Wednesday when Sparks read two Kenyan tales to the little world travelers at Cooke, she was pleased with the turnout; 63 children came to hear about the African country.
``It gives them an appreciation for Africa, knowing that people share tales just as they share their stories with each other. It teaches respect for other cultures, listening skills, a love of reading,'' said Sparks.
Kristin Dooley, 11, said she comes to the story hour each week because ``we don't get to hear much about other countries in school. Besides, most of my friends are here.''
After their passports are stamped each week with a symbol of the featured country, the children ``enter'' the country by going up on the school stage, territory normally forbidden to students.
They can be ``deported,'' Garvey said, for being unruly while visiting the foreign land, by being asked to leave the stage.
The children hear a story from The Big Book Series, published by Scholastic Inc. and tidbits about the culture shared by that week's volunteer teacher/reader.
Garvey encourages the teachers to dress in native costumes and to bring in whatever they can find concerning their country's culture.
When the children leave the stage, their passports are stamped with a U.S. flag, to indicate they have re-entered their own country.
Then, they are given miniature editions of the big book story and a food treat that relates to the tale they just heard.
The program, Garvey said, has grown each week since it began June 29. Average attendance is 65; parents are invited to stay and hear the story with their children.
``Most kids don't read in the summer; this really encourages them to read,'' said Echavaria.
``My children look forward each week to `going to school to read' then waiting for daddy to come home so they can discuss the story with him at dinner.
``I wish more schools would do this, and I wish they'd have something like it in the winter, too,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by CARL CASON
Cheryl Sparks dressed in African clothing to tell children about
plaintain, a fruit native to Africa, as part of the summer reading
program.
Photo
``Passports'' detail each student's visit to a featured country in
the W.T. Cooke Elementary School summer reading program.
by CNB