Mystery Readers Keep Students Guessing in the K

FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, parents, faculty, staff, and even grandparents have shared in the magic of storytime that is a pivotal part of the Peck kindergarten experience. Peck’s Mystery Reader Program, which features two-tothree “mystery guests’’ per week, invites a Peck employee or a kindergartner’s family member to secretly volunteer to share a story of their choosing. And of course, guessing who will be the day’s mystery reader is a favorite pastime in the kindergarten!

“The Mystery Reader program is important because we really want to build community,” said Kindergarten Homeroom Teacher Maribel Mohr. “We want the students to know each other’s families. We want to make sure all of the faculty and staff are familiar faces—and that the students know what they do around Peck. Then, when our kids see different adults on campus, they can say hello and make those connections.”

This fall, Upper School Science Teacher Liz Belasic read The Bug Girl by Sophia Spencer, a true story about a girl who loved bugs, even though her classmates thought she was a little odd for it. Belasic, an insect aficionado, also brought her bug collection and bug-catching net!

“I love the Kindergarten Mystery Reader program because it gives the kids a chance to meet the members of their community, and we get to share something we like with them,” Belasic said. Shannon Roth, also an Upper School Science Teacher, read the fan-favorite Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin. “I wanted to read to the kindergarten because I think it’s really important for them to have a chance to meet and interact with different adults on campus in a setting that is comfortable and familiar to them. It’s not as intimidating, and then we become a familiar face,” Roth said. “It’s just as exciting for the kindergarteners as it is for the adults— and it’s a fun way to establish an early and meaningful connection that will continue to grow over their future on campus.”

Several staff members read their Mystery Reader favorites every year, such as School Nurse Colleen Loughman’s Germs Are Not For Sharing and Noses are Not For Picking by Elizabeth Verdick, and Upper School Math Teacher Stewart Wilkinson’s The Gruffalo (which he both reads AND performs!).

“A children’s story that can “I was thrilled to be a mystery reader for only be enjoyed by children is the kindergarten!” said Pallas Jia, mom not a good children’s story in of kindergartner Ilan. the slightest.”– C.S. Lewis “It is an amazingly meaningful opportunity for me to be there to see him and his friends in action, and be a part of their reading and learning journey!” Many parent readers donate their book to the classroom adorned with a plaque in their honor. The kindergarten teachers also maintain a bulletin board of all the readers and the books they read throughout the year.