Making Reading Fun and Fundamental

December 2, 2008 - Kindergarten through third graders at Bailey’s Elementary School in Falls Church, VA were treated to a scholastic reading assembly, led by Redskins’ Devin Thomas, and Fred Davis.

The players took turns reading from a book on the importance of recycling, along with the fun and zany book, Crazy Hair Day (by David Saltzberg).

After the readings, the kids got the opportunity to ask the players a few questions.

Seemingly, the most popular question of the afternoon was about last Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants.

“Was it hard to beat the NY Giants?”, asked the students.

In the minds of 6 year-olds it probably looked like it was hard to beat the Giants.

“Well, we actually lost to the Giants”, said Davis.

“The last time we had the Redskins here they won four in a row", said Jay McClain, the school’s principal.

“Let’s hope they win four in a row again”, McClain added.

After the reading exercise, the players talked to us about their experiences on the afternoon, and what person (athlete or celebrity), made a memorable impression upon them when visiting them during their grade school days.

Fred Davis
“This is fun. You get to give back to the people who really care about it.”

“We used to be one of those little kids, and to have someone come to your school reading books is a good thing.”

Davis told us he really enjoys getting to spend time with the kids, and reflected upon the time former NFL star, Emmit Smith came for an event at his home town school of Reynolds Elementary, in Ohio.

“I liked football, so it was good for me”, said Davis.

Devin Thomas
Devin Thomas reflected upon a time in elementary school when the Michigan women’s basketball team came to his school, and about the crush he had on one of the players, Stacy Thomas.

“Her last name was Thomas also, so I remember that”, recalled Thomas.

The kids were encouraged to continue reading, and were reminded that their favorite Redskins players learned to read at an early age.

One of the students rewarded the players with thank you cards with a very special message.

“It’s kinda private”, the reluctant student said after we asked her to tell us about the card.

About Scholastic Book Fairs
SBF congratulated the students for winning the Redskins Reading Challenge for reading 70,452 books in 45 days. For the contest, area students recorded how many books they read between October 1 and November 14, 2008. In total, 276,055 books were read by 7,354 area students during that time – an average of 38 books per student.

About The Redskins Charitable Foundation
The Redskins and the Redskins Charitable Foundation offers community-centric activities to promote health, education, and wellness in the Washington, DC metro area.