Every year, near the end of October, we harness the creative fun of Halloween bycelebrating Character Dress Up Day. There’s something magical about dressing up and we love to see teachers and students going all out to produce homemade costumes honoring characters from their favorite books.
If kids don’t like to read, chances are they won’t put much effort into creating a book character costume. But if kids love reading, Character Dress-Up Day helps reinforce that culture of reading. It’s a positive cycle that just keeps on growing year after year.These are the reasons why we do it and love it:
1. It helps all the members of our school bond, creating a stronger community. Teachers come early to stand at the entrance of the school and greet the kids as they arrive. It’s always wonderful to see the faces of students as they see their teachers transformed for the day. Throughout the school we hear “Cool costume…” “Let me guess, you’re ______” “How did you make those ears?” Kids parade in their costumes, proud of their creations and happy to be a part of this community of readers.
2. It reinforces kids’ love of books – they get excited when they see characters from books come alive. They present their characters in class and share their love of reading with each other. Teachers use the day to introduce new books to their students or to celebrate old favorites.
3. It inspires creativity. We ask that students design their own costumes, rather than coming in store-bought ones. And the costumes they create are amazing! It’s so much fun to see what people can invent with simple materials they find around the house.
4. But above all – it’s fun…..and isn’t that one of the most important ingredients in education (life)?
To see more pictures of this year’s costumes visit our Facebook album at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.607675866007771.1073741936.170192306422798&type=3