Bringing stories to life

Students at Oak Harbor Christian School brought stories to life recently at the school’s literacy fair. Around 80 children from preschool to sixth grade performed songs, presented dioramas and gave presentations as characters from books their classes read.

“It was a huge success,” said Vice Principal Mary Beth Eelkema, one of the organizers.

Students and their families and guests were treated to a free taco dinner first, then invited to see what each of the grade levels had prepared. The preschoolers sang songs and displayed their egg-carton caterpillars, made after reading “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

Kindergartners and first graders read different variations of “The Three Little Pigs” and showed off their own little pig houses, made from materials such as macaroni and jelly beans.

The students also got to write their own stories featuring the houses they built. In one, the wolf ate the jelly bean house, so the pig had to take him to the dentist and the two became friends.

Second- through sixth-grade students became the characters from the books they read, such as “Charlotte’s Web,” “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and a series of books by Max Lucado. Parents and teachers could walk around and press a “button” on the floor in front of the students, which would activate a presentation about the character and book.

“It was crowded and busy, but very fun,” said Eelkema. “The rooms were just kind of a buzz of noise.”

Every year the school holds a fair related to some part of the curriculum, such as science or history, but this is the first year the literacy fair has been done in this way, Eelkema said.

The Christian Parent Teacher Association, which aims to host family nights a few times a year, helped with the dinner portion of the event, she said. This led to an all-in-one, family night and fair.

Eelkema said the students even made and passed out invitations to their friends and family.

“We tried it make it a pretty big deal,” she said.

First grader Ryder Shepley shows off his jelly bean house. He made his own version of “The Three Little Pigs” featuring his house for the literacy fair at Oak Harbor Christian School. Photo provided

First grader Ryder Shepley shows off his jelly bean house. He made his own version of “The Three Little Pigs” featuring his house for the literacy fair at Oak Harbor Christian School. Photo provided

Photo provided

Photo provided