09/16/04 - Children at Feed My Lambs Daycare Enjoy Donated Books from Reinhardt Education Students

Red Bird, Red Bird, what do you see?

The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish.

What did he forget? His pants!

What color is this right here?

Feed My Lambs Daycare in northern Cherokee County was a bit nosier than usual on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2004, as the room filled with joyful sounds. The teachers' eyes lit up, as well.

"I'm going to enjoy reading these to them," the Center Director Angela Cantrell said, with a large grin. "We really needed these age-appropriate books."

Four education students and two faculty from the Price School of Education at Reinhardt College presented the 70 books to the Center. The College's EDU 320 Literature for Children and Adolescents class raised the $500 used to buy the books through a bake sale in March of 2004. Dr. Julie C. Schultz, an assistant professor of middle grades education at Reinhardt, coordinated the project. She said after the class explored the theme of service learning, they decided to "extend the walls of the classroom and learn by giving something back to the community."

Schultz said bringing her class to the community, and specifically to Feed My Lambs, benefits the college students by making their experience more authentic, more real world.

Erin Daniel, an education major from Ball Ground, Ga., enjoyed reading with the children.

"I saw that the one-on-one attention was a very big deal,� Daniel said. �It was neat to see the students feel special and know that we really care about them."

With 15 students enrolled at the nonprofit daycare, and more on the waiting list, the community support is needed and much appreciated. "I have such an overwhelming feeling about this," Cantrell said. "The support from Reinhardt has been such a blessing, and the children are so excited about the new books."

Schultz said her class spent spring semester examining books and deciding which to buy. Those purchased represent their favorites -- books that will surely delight the children and will be read over and over again, for years to come.

"One of the greatest gifts you can give a child is the gift of literacy," Schultz said. "These children, at least some of them, come from single-parent homes. We need to do everything in our power to help these parents, who are working hard, sometimes just to make ends meet. By helping students learn skills like reading, writing, speaking & listening, we can empower them and give them the tools they will need to make very important and powerful decisions about their futures."

Schultz also hopes more people in the community will get involved in supporting center.

"My goal is to help the community learn about the mission and the needs of Feed My Lambs," she said. She is hoping to develop a task force of community members who will donate their time, money and services to support the center, especially local tradespersons who can help with jobs like tiling floors, installing shelving and fixing siding.

The College will also be supporting Feed My Lambs with service projects throughout the year, the first of which was held on Aug. 28, 2004. Fifteen Reinhardt students, faculty and staff spent the morning painting murals, reorganizing the kitchen area and renovating the playground.