Plains students collaborate on storytime program

A mixture of computer science, reading and storytelling took place last week with kindergarten, second, third and seventh grade students at the Plains elementary school.

Kati Mitchell, the school’s business and computer science teacher, organized this year’s children’s stories program with the help of second-grade teacher Cindy Gumm, third-grade teacher Rhonda Leeper and kindergarten teacher Danielle Crowe. 

Each of the stories were written and computer generated by the eight seventh-grader groups. Also on hand, was longtime volunteer Bill Beck, who stops by the school each week to read with the students. Beck is also involved in a program that donates dictionaries to all the third graders. 

Last year local VFW Post 3596 distributed dictionaries to the third-graders. The White Pine Grange 102, from Trout Creek supplied 43 dictionaries to the Thompson Falls and Trout Creek students. 

Seventh-grader Gary Rehbein said, “I like reading to the kids.”  

Kylie Silva commented with a smile, “It’s fun and exciting to see what the little kids think of the story.” 

The story she helped make with Gary Rehbein was titled "The donkey who cried lion."

    Third-graders Ashlynn Weedeman, Ella Bright and Aiden Williams with volunteer reader Bill Beck. (Tracy Scott/Valley Press)