Students at Northeast Lauderdale Elementary School now have a new space to take a break and read a book. 

To celebrate National Read Across America week and Dr. Seuss’ birthday, the school opened its reading garden on Monday. The project was started in August 2019 and was funded with help from the community.

Read Across America was created to motivate kids to read, by bringing the joys of reading to students of all ages, and to make all children feel valued and welcome, according to its website.

The idea for the garden was was spearheaded by a parent who wanted to use space that was becoming overgrown, said Lisa Shelly, principal of Northeast Elementary. 

The large garden has benches and space to place blankets. Soon, there will be a book cart nearby so students can choose books while they are reading.

“The end result is to have a great place where kids can come and read,” Shelly said. “It might be with their family, or it might be with community people. Maybe their teacher can bring them as a class to use it.”

Shelly hopes the garden will foster community engagement while encouraging young people to read. 

“This is more of a relaxed way to do it,” she said. “To go outside.” 

The space will allow also students to use their imagination, said Linda Ware, a teaching assistant and family and community engagement coordinator at the school. 

“The two biggest times kids use their imagination are when they are outdoors and when they are reading,” she said, adding that the school will invite parents to read to their kids once a month. 

“They can breathe the fresh air, see the sunshine, read a book, read to each other and enjoy something new they’ve never had before,” said LeAnn Naylor, a second-grade teacher at the school.