By Kallie Benes
In an effort to build literacy skills and develop a love for reading, Wesley Elementary school partnered with Oasis for Children to hold Nursery Rhyme Time- a literacy outreach program on October 12, 2010.

Nursery Rhymes were brought back to life at Wesley Elementary School’s Nursery Rhyme Time event. This literacy event began in the library with PK, K, and 1st grade students reading classic Nursery Rhymes, such as “Hey Diddle Diddle,” “Humpty Dumpty,” “Hickory Dickory Dock,” “Jack and Jill,” “Little Bo Peep,” “Little Miss Muffet,” and more.

The literature then resurfaced in an assembly entitled “Mother Goose is on the Loose” performed by Lisa Jastram of Oasis for Children. Oasis for Children is a local performance team that performs educational and entertaining puppetry, singing & dancing shows for children. In order to extend the program, parents and families of participating students were invited to attend the program with their child.

Children and their families were then invited back to the school library where their favorite nursery rhymes could be turned into books to be read at home. Creating books for the children to take home not only builds their personal library collection, but also provides the children with a sense of ownership and accomplishment over creating the books themselves. This “make and take” book activity also gave parents the opportunity to have materials to read to their children, along with some background knowledge on the nursery rhymes from the day’s performance.

Children, staff, and families were entertained and educated through these valuable literacy experiences. Bringing literacy to life in school, the community, and home further attests to the joy and knowledge that reading can bring to young minds.