"Reading Playdates" Connect Elementary Schoolers

A group of Anne Hutchinson fifth graders took a walk down memory lane this week, when members of the school’s student council headed back to Waverly to lead read-alouds for kindergarten students. 

But even though visiting their old teachers and reconnecting with the past may have been exciting for the fifth-graders, the “Super Reading Playdate” also served to form bonds between students across grade levels, hopefully inspiring Eastchester’s youngest learners to one day pay it forward to future generations of Eagles. 

Wednesday morning’s event saw fifth-grade “Eagle Buddies” pop into Waverly classrooms to read from some of their favorite children’s books and lead small group discussions and activities with the youngsters. 

Anne Hutchinson teacher Lindsay Farley explained that the event began last year as a way to forge bonds between students in different grade levels, and it didn’t take long to see both the fifth graders and the youngsters benefited in myriad ways from the interaction.

“At first, this started as a way to give our fifth graders a shared experience with their siblings and neighbors while also giving them a reason to go visit their teachers from Waverly,” said Farley. “We had so much positive feedback from students and staff, and we knew immediately that we wanted to do it again.

“We found that giving students the freedom to do activities like this also teaches our fifth graders about public speaking, working with others and how to give directions, all things that are going to prepare them for middle school,” she added.

Fifth-grader Rosemary Murphy said that getting the chance to share one of her old favorites, Waiting is Not Easy: An Elephant and Piggie Book, was a fantastic experience, and one that allowed her to communicate her love for reading with the younger students. 

“I love helping little kids, and I thought it would be a really great way to go back to where it started,” said Murphy. “My mom used to read this book to me and do all the voices, so my friend Jordan [DiPaolo] and I did the voices too, because I want the kids to realize that we’re all learning the same lessons, we’re all here for the same reasons and we all love reading.”

Michael Sheehy, another "Eagle Buddy", selected one of his childhood favorites, The Day the Crayons Came Home, and said he hoped that the kindergarten students got as much out of the story as he did, and that they might be inspired to one day come back and read to future kindergartners. 

“I wanted to make an impact on somebody’s day, to make them smile and feel better,” said Sheehey. “And I also want the younger kids to look up to us and say, ‘I want to be like them.’”

Waverly Principal Caitlin Mondelli said she also hopes this partnership will continue, both as a way to promote a passion for reading in her students and to open her students’ eyes to the fact that they belong to a community that extends far beyond Waverly’s walls. 

“I think this is a wonderful event, and I hope it continues on as a tradition here in Eastchester,” said Mondelli. “It’s a full circle; almost all of these fifth grade students came through Waverly, and it’s so nice to see that connection to their teachers and to see them become role models for our current students.”