Children’s Literature is a class centered around writing and reading children’s books. Everything said and read in this class is intended to prepare students to create a book of their own. Each student had two to three pen-pals, belonging to Ms. Huntington’s 3rd grade class at Ellsworth Elementary School.

My pen pals were two incredibly kind girls and we shared a few things in common like our love for the color pink; these kids are some of the smartest I’ve ever met. When we finally met in person we broke off into groups and spoke to the kids about the different things we wrote about and got to know them on a deeper level. After speaking for a while we read a book of their choosing and colored in some bookmarks for them to keep. The kids were very excited to see us and they looked up to us. 

The Children’s Literature students all seemed to make great connections with the kids. Here are some quotes from the ACE students:

I asked: Would you like to go back to see your penpals someday? And why or why not?

Kassandra Gonzalez: Seeing little kids always excites me. I would love to go back during spring/summer time and do fun activities with them. We were all interacting with one another, everyone took their turn, and although I did have a student who was timid and shy, I totally understood that. I feel like it would be fun to reconnect with them.

Brianna Grathwohl: I would like to go back someday because it was fun to read to the kids, and they were very excited to see all of us and we all had fun being there with them.

Haley Sanchez:  I would go back because it was fun reading to them and I feel like it would be nice for  them too since they had a lot to share and we really did not have enough time.

Genesis Aybar: I would like to go back and see my pen-pal because it was really nice seeing how excited they were to meet us. I also learned that elementary students think high schoolers are superheroes.

Now that the semester is over and we won’t see them again, a new batch of ACE students will pick up where we left off to continue the relationship with the kids at Ellsworth.

Gallery: Photos From The Trip To Ellsworth