Teacher Offers Free Books To Children

LYNN KUTTER Isaac Tustin, 8, left, Titus Tustin, 6, and Brinly Tustin, 4, are excited about their free books to take home and read.
LYNN KUTTER Isaac Tustin, 8, left, Titus Tustin, 6, and Brinly Tustin, 4, are excited about their free books to take home and read.

FARMINGTON -- A book in the hand is like, well, that's what it is -- it's a book in the hand of a child who hopefully will take pleasure out of reading it.

That is the goal this summer for Farmington reading teacher Kendi Skocki. She spends several days each week driving around town, an ice cream song blaring from a speaker atop her car, to entice children and their parents to come outside and see what's going on.

The back of her vehicle is loaded with free books for children to take home and read. She hands out a lollipop along with the free books.

"I'm having a great time," said Skocki, who has taught reading at Lynch Middle School in Farmington since 2002. "It's a little free library on wheels."

She said she may give children a few ideas on good books to read but mainly lets them pick out their own books.

"I want the kids to choose what they like," Skocki said.

Last year, Skocki and a colleague drove the school van to pick up children, take them to the Farmington Library for story time and then treat them to ice cream. However, she was limited on the number of children she could take and sometimes only a few children would go.

This summer, she wanted a new plan to reach more children and implemented her "A Book in the Hand" campaign. The school initiated its phone call system to let parents know about the program so they would not be alarmed as she traveled through neighborhoods.

"There's so many kids who don't have a lot of books. This way there's no fines, no fees and it's all free."

Toward the end of the summer, many children are bored and want something to do. Skocki thinks a book in the hand will give children something to do that they enjoy.

The Tustin children, Isaac, Brinly and Titus, found lots of books they wanted to take home. So many that their mother, Natasha, had to rein them back. However, Skocki was generous, telling them, "Take all you want."

Natasha Tustin, who homeschools her children, thanked Skocki for the books. She said her children like to read and would enjoy the new books.

Skocki thanked the Farmington Library, Good Will and neighbors for donating books to her for the summer.

General News on 07/23/2014