Scary Fridays

Guest Writer: Meg Wickersham, 3rd Grade Scholar Coach at Nellie Stone Johnson in North Minneapolis

The last forty-five minutes of every Friday in Ms. Anderson's room are reserved for true play. During this sacred time, little hands build lego villages on the carpet and young minds strategize their next move in Mancala. This is Fun Friday--the time where children get to be children.

The thing I like most about Fun Friday is the freedom of choice our third graders have. They get to define "fun" for themselves. That is why I was so ecstatic when one of our girls approached me with a book she had checked out from the library, and tentatively asked if I would read it to her. "YES!" I cried, slightly alarming her with my enthusiasm, "READING IS FUN!!!"

I invited her to my round table in the back of the classroom and we cracked open Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. She leaned in as I whispered the creepy details of a woman haunted by her mother. More friends trickled in as I read. Soon my round table was full of eager listeners.

"Helen," I croaked, "I'm coming up the stairs." The group tried to contain their giggles. 

"Heleeeen," I whispered, "I'm outside of your dooooor." They leaned in and hid their giggles behind their hands in anticipation.

"Heleeeen..." I paused. They looked at me with wide eyes.
"I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!" I yelled. The table collectively jumped and yelped, then burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter. I beamed. Reading is, indeed, fun.

The next Fun Friday, my third grade friends were eagerly waiting at my table with a new volume of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. This tradition has continued ever since. In fact, a lone vigilante has started erasing the "Fun" on our whiteboard schedule and replacing it with "Scarry" (we've got to work on our spelling).

Scary Friday is a testament to why I love being a Scholar Coach. My presence inside the classroom allows me to foster close relationships with the children. I can be there for them every Friday, and together we can discover all the ways a book can make you feel--outraged, frightened, delighted. I am so thankful to be able to experience all of these emotions with my scholars.

The Reading Corps Scholar Coach position is part of an innovative pilot project with Minnesota Reading Corps, the Northside Achievement Zone, and Nellie Stone Johnson Community School to support early literacy outcomes for student "scholars". Members in this position are placed in an elementary classroom and collaborate directly with the classroom teacher to support whole-child development and academic achievement.