The wordplay readers
Where it All Began
The Wordplay Readers are a small group of people from the Amery area dedicated to reading weekly to students in the kindergarten and first grade classes of Lien Elementary School.
It all started when Don Hansen volunteered to read in Miss Mugerauer’s first grade class over 20 years ago. It didn’t take long for him to become a weekly guest reader.
One day, when leaving school, he was confronted by a first grade student from a different class who asked why he reads stories to Miss Mugerauer’s class, but not his. After speaking to that student’s teacher, Don was pleased to add another class to his schedule. The following school year he added another, then another. It had become evident he would need to get others involved.
His friends were more than enthusiastic to help, and they found that with several readers involved they would be able to accommodate the entire first and kindergarten grades. A rotating schedule of readers also allowed greater continuity since the periodic absence of any reader would be filled with another. Thus, the Wordplay Readers were born.
3000+ Books in 30 Years
“We want to provide a sense of enjoyment in reading; that reading is fun; and to stimulate their imagination through storytelling.”
- Don Hansen
It wasn’t long before they added both Clayton and Clear Lake School districts to their schedule of weekly visits.
Hansen describes their mission as extra-curricular; “we are not teachers or educators, we are facilitators, our purpose is not to instruct but to entice. We want to provide a sense of enjoyment in reading; that reading is fun; and to stimulate their imagination through storytelling.”
“We do not know if, or how, our efforts bear fruit but we believe sincerely that this effort is, indeed, our pleasure.”
“We love having the Word Play readers visit our kindergarten classrooms each week! It is always fun to hear the stories picked out to share with our students! There are even favorites I wait to hear again year after year! We also enjoy the special Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day performances! It is quite the experience for our students to see the instruments used and to hear a story accompanied by music! All around we LOVE our story time with our readers!!!!”
- Mrs. Eastep Amery Kindergarten Teacher“The students absolutely love listening to the books Mr. Hansen and Ms. Johnson share each week!
[They] expose the students to various types of books and authors, welcome student participation, encourage them to read for both enjoyment and learning, and bring out the imagination and inquisitiveness of the students.
It has been so wonderful to be a part of this great program offered by Wordplay Readers. A very special treat each year is when the Wordplay Readers put on a Christmas and also a St. Patrick’s Day presentation for our entire elementary school which includes songs, poems, and stories!”
- Ms. Pickard Clayton First Grade Teacher