I Love To Read Month has been taking place for the last few weeks, and North Memorial School sets out to do something different each time around. Librarian and E.A. Darla Sanderson says it's all about incorporating books with activities for this round.

"For example, on Fox In Socks Day, we wore crazy socks and we read the book Fox In Socks," explains Sanderson. "We had Show and Tell Day -- that's a Robert Munsch book. The kids showed and told about books they read or things that were special from home. We had a Bookmark Extravaganza where the whole school made bookmarks. This year, we decided to work with other schools in the Division."

She says they partnered each grade with a classroom from another school, and the teachers read a story to the other class via Zoom, as well as exchanging bookmarks that the students made for each other.

"The kids really like that. We had Jeff Bereza, our MLA, to come and to read to the kids," continues Sanderson. "We wore red on Valentine's Day, which was a big hit. Also, we invited some parents to join us to read to the students, so they get to see first-hand what their kids are doing in school; not only for I Love to Read Month, but just on a daily basis. It was a lot of fun. The kids were really excited."

Sanderson says things are winding up with popcorn and a movie. However, she notes, the biggest part of the overall effort is to explore reading and different genres to excite the students.

"We had a Book Challenge, first of all," says Sanderson. "The kids got to explore different genres, different Canadian authors, and Indigenous authors. We're having the Indigenous Inclusion Team from the Manitoba government coming to read to the students one day, and I have an Indigenous section in my library. They're going to choose books from that category, as well. We also had the bookmarks where they punch holes every time they read a book. When they finish that, they get a Grizzly Growl. We're the North Memorial Grizzlies and it's a big deal. They get prizes for those, too."

Sanderson explains the Grizzly Growl is a chance to have their names put in a bucket and if their name is pulled out, they can pick a prize. Grizzly Growls can also be collected and redeemed at the Grizzly Store.

"The importance of I Love To Read Month allows all the students to explore books from all different genres in different ways, shapes, and forms" adds Sanderson. "We just want to get kids excited about reading because we do have some kids that struggle a little bit. In this way, it's non-judgmental and it's just fun. We want to show them that reading is fun at all levels."

She adds February is also Black History Month, and the library has a section of Black History books. 

"We try and focus on the Canadian Black History, but we do have biographies," explains Sanderson. "There are activities the kids can do. For example, Rosa Parks. And then there are little colouring pages about Rosa Parks. For the older students, I have little stories about Rosa Parks, and then we do some little trivia just to make it fun."