As Straughn Elementary School kicks off Reading Across America week in Covington County this week, Reading Specialist Patricia Oates says that kids are reading now more than ever.

“We teach reading this early in their lives so kids can get the foundation of it early on,” Oates said. “We want to get the love of reading instilled in them from the beginning so they can continue to do so through their lives.”

Reading Across America is an annual reading motivation awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading. Reading Across America started 1997 as a small reading task force at the National Education Association, but soon turned into the largest celebration of reading.

Theodor Seuss Geusel was an American author, poet, political cartoonist and artist, best known for authoring more than 60 children’s books under the pen name Dr. Seuss.

“We study Dr. Seuss because it helps students list rhyming words,” Oates said. “We also study him because we want to incorporate a sense of humor in reading.”

Seuss’ birthday is March 2, 1904, and has been used as the date that the National Education Association’s Read Across America is set on.

“Students are actually reading now more than ever,” Oates said. “They are using hard back books more often as well because it gives them something tangible to hold on to while they are reading and it is easier to go back and reread again.”

Oates said that older kids have been more likely to pick up a tablet and read instead of hard back books because they enjoy the technology and are capable of using it a little better than younger kids.

Students at SES are participating in Read Across America this week:

• Monday they wore crazy socks and read Fox In Socks.
• Tuesday they had green eggs and ham for breakfast in the lunchroom, read Green Eggs and Ham and wore green
• Wednesday they wore Cat in the Hat hats and read Cat In the Hat.
• Thursday there will be guest readers in all the classrooms and there will be a best-dressed contest.
• Friday there will be a character parade beginning at 8:15 a.m. where the kids will dress up as their favorite book character and bring the book.