I spent the morning at the Stables at LeBocage, hanging out with horses and over 100 first-graders from two local elementary schools. This field trip was part of the Horse Tales Literacy Project, formerly called The Black Stallion Literacy Foundation. (The name had to be changed because when folks googled Black Stallion, a porn site popped up.) This program strives to foster and instill a love of reading in young children through their natural love and curiosity of horses.
The kids seemed to have a great time. They made equestrian-themed crafts, participated in activities like relay races on stick horses, toured the stables, went on a scavenger hunt, and petted and brushed a pony. I had one of the best jobs – working the read-to-a-horse station. I monitored a pretty horse named Sophie while the children took turns reading to her from Walter Farley’s classic book Little Black, A Pony.
Sophie loved listening to the children read. See, doesn’t she look enthralled?
Cameramen from local media were there and I ended up on the five o’clock news. Fun day.
Do you have a favorite horse book?
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1 comment:
When I was a child I loved reading books about horses - all the usuals, like Black Beauty and Misty from Chincoteague etc. I even wrote a play in which all the characters were horses.
This literacy day sounds quite inventive. Having the kids read to a horse? What a great idea!
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