Community Book Club Hub
Matunuck Elementary 2025 Community Book is:
The Cricket in
Times Square
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The Cricket in Times Square is a children's book which charmingly addresses several themes. They include friendship and the importance of family, responsibility, and hard work. Each of these themes are shown through how the characters behave in the story and in the choices they make.
It is about about the everyday happenings, some ordinary and some extraordinary, in the lives of a handful of animals. They are stories that are packed with heart, that beg to be read with different voices, and that are filled with some of the most beautiful descriptive passages ever to grace young people’s literature.
For those new to SK, CBC is a voluntary program where the entire school community reads the same book at the same time. We believe this strengthens community, builds excitement around reading, and improves student literacy. Books can be read by students that are able, read to students by older siblings or family members, or listened to our Matunuck teachers
have recorded themselves reading each of the chapters.
Several times over the course of the CBC book related crafts will also come home with students- again, this is voluntary and students are welcome to make these crafts, or not, at any time. Crafts do not need to be turned in, though we know students do love to bring their crafts to school to show one another. To continue building excitement book themed decorations pop up around the school during the course of reading. To conclude CBC Mrs. McGuire will read the final chapter at another all school assembly. We also screen a slideshow from the book including photos of students reading/listening to the
book and completing their crafts.
Photos for inclusion in this slideshow can be send to: cbcsksd@gmail.com
Check your student’s backpack this afternoon for an introductory letter about CBC, a bookmark with which chapters to read each night, and a copy of this year’s book. If you have 2+ students at Matunuck only one book/family will go home (with the oldest student). CBC is a cherished institution at Matunuck, and all our SKSD elementary schools, and we hope you love it as much as we do.
Thank you to SKEF and the Matunuck PTO for their financial sponsorship of
this beloved tradition.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns! Happy Reading!
-Community Book Club Committee
Reading Aloud, is it necessary?
Reading to children for 15 minutes a day sounds simple, but the results are complex and permanent. Extensive research has shown that if children hear words for two minutes daily, they will have heard 180,000 words a year, and with five minutes that becomes over 350,000 words in a year.
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Reading aloud sharpens the imagination, creates healthy dialogue, and engenders in children a love of reading. Children who learn to listen eventually learn to read, and literacy skills provide the basis for a lifetime of learning and productivity. When children listen, they learn about their own lives and the stories of others around the globe.
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In addition, reading to children strengthens the emotional bonds between the adult reader and the child, providing those positive parent-child connections is essential to a child’s psychological health and academic growth.