Everyone has a story to tell, and local preschoolers learned that lesson last week courtesy of District 8 State Rep. Stan Gunter as part of Georgia Pre-K Week. Gunter traveled to Union County Primary School on Oct. 7 to read a truly amazing story to a gaggle of excited little ones.
Gunter was joined by his wife Rita, who stood back and allowed him to tell the story and ask thought-provoking questions throughout the short but spirited adventure.
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Deana Snowden of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning attended with the Gunters. She brought along some goodies for the kiddos to enjoy afterward, such as blank Golden Books to write their own stories in and stick-puppets to act them out.
Organized by Voices for Georgia’s Children and the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, Georgia Pre-K Week serves as an opportunity for legislators to step into the classroom and visit with or read to students.
The two organizations contact leaders across the state, sending out letters encouraging them to promote learning within their districts.
“It shows them that reading is important, but it also shows them how it opens up the world to them, so we’re just blessed to have (Rep. Gunter) here,” said Primary School Principal Debby Decubellis.
Pre-K Director Anna Chapman added, “And we know that Stan’s local, so I reach out to them as well and say, you know, ‘Would you like to come read?’”
Gunter has read to Union County’s youngest generation for at least four years now and has no plans to stop. In fact, he and his wife enjoy it so much that they make a point to plan for the visit every October and have started to do “extra reading” by visiting their grandchildren’s classrooms and treating them to story time.
This year’s choice was “Every Amazing Story,” written by Malcolm Mitchell and Coy Bowles. The book walks through Mitchell and Bowles’ friendship forged through the bond of storytelling.
More than that, it gives young scholars an idea of how to come up with their own stories by taking them through a whimsical adventure that includes karaoke-singing koalas and cartwheeling frogs.
While Bowles is known for lending his musical talents to the Zac Brown Band, Mitchell is famed for his athleticism as a Super Bowl champion. That said, Mitchell has cultivated a career in the world of literature, and Gunter believes he stands as a testament to why getting kids interested in learning is so important.
Mitchell attended college knowing how to read only at a middle-school level; Gunter explained that he was passed along for his skill in sports. Feeling limited, Mitchell decided to teach himself how to read and found that the study of it “electrified” him. Today, he is a successful author and poet who champions the cause of literacy.
“He’s an amazing young man, and he’s not stupid – he just never got the care that he needed,” Gunter said of Mitchell after the students filed out of the corridor and back to class.
But despite everything that adults can teach children, Rita Gunter believes learning goes both ways. The excitement in the room as Gunter read and urged students to share their own stories was palpable, as was the joy when they answered a question correctly or got excited about a certain aspect of the book.
“Pay attention to kids; they notice things that we overlook,” Rita advised with a gentle smile. “And what’s important to them, it’s not important to us or doesn’t seem to be. You have to stop and just notice.”
