John Quincy Adams Elementary School celebrated Parents as Reading Partners Month with a variety of literary events and activities. This year’s theme, “Put Your Heart into Reading,” was based on the character of the Tin Man from L. Frank Baum’s classic tale of “The Wizard of Oz.”

The program kicked off with a visit from performing arts students from the high school, who engaged the audience in a reader’s theater version of “The Wizard of Oz.” Following the presentation, reading teachers explained the goal of PARP to students. "PARP is about getting us extra excited about reading in the cold, cold winter!" teacher Lauren Corcoran enthused.

Each student received a commemorative button that illustrated the PARP theme, and teacher Elissa Martin described how students could participate. “During PARP, you will be doing a lot of fun reading activities at home,” she explained. “You can read to your sibling or dog and share your books in your favorite reading spot.”

In school, storyteller LuAnn Adams engaged students in an interactive program where she told educational stories and utilized puppets and visual props, which students controlled as the story progressed. Students and their families also enjoyed Pajama Activity Night, which included a performance from author Lee Knight and story time with JQA teachers.

The school set a reading goal of 10,000 books, tracked by a yellow brick road winding throughout the hallways. If they meet that mark, students will vote for Principal Jennifer Rodriguez to complete a silly celebratory action based on their suggestions.