On November 3, seventeen members of the National English Honor Society donated their time at Bernie's Book Bank in Lake Bluff. They helped sort five large containers of books. They also helped bag 800 bags for students in Kindergarten through Fifth grade. A total of 6,400 books will be in the hands of students because of their hard work.
On November 7, sixteen members met at St. Anastasia's School in Waukegan to help out in their Kindergarten, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth grade classrooms. Before we went, we met and lesson-planned for each grade level. The goal was to read with the students and then do a seasonal literacy-based activity. In Kindergarten, they did a connect-the-dot with letters (completing the alphabet to see the picture) and played various games. In second grade, they created seasonal Wordle games, and the kids had a blast trying to guess letters and words to get the correct word. In third grade, the students created a list of seasonal words for fall and winter to have a spelling bee. In fourth grade, the students brought fall-themed Mad Libs for the kids to complete. The teacher loved them so much that she made copies to save for the kids for later. Finally, the fifth grade teacher asked if some students could come in and work with her students because she saw how much the younger students enjoyed spending time with the "big kids." Overall, it was a great experience for the NEHS students and the St. Anastasia students!