Merry Christmas and happy reading, kids

Beginning next week, you’ll see a new feature in The Star aimed at helping local kids practice reading and writing without realizing it.

We’ve sourced a very well-done fun page designed to get kids from second through sixth grades reading, writing and thinking. The “Kid Scoop” page pops with fun little puzzles, jokes, riddles and learning tasks, all planned by a curriculum designer who knows how to present a mini lesson plan in a few square inches with kid-friendly graphics complete with relevant educational standards noted for teachers.

With kids still stuck at home the majority of the time, hands-on (not on a screen) activities should provide a little treat once a week. And the page always asks questions that encourage conversation, laughter, further reading in the newspaper (we like that part), and even a possible way to submit contributions to the paper for the next week’s issue.

We hope it helps in the current situation and look forward to your reactions and comments. And we hope to find sponsors who will want to contribute to making a popular page and extra boost for teachers and parents who can always use another tool to help kids learn.

As the country gets new vaccines distributed over the next few months, look for our new Kid Scoop page each week as one way we can get through the remainder of this pandemic together.

We wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and a much better new year!

A new Kid Scoop page is coming to a paper in your hands.

Scott Hunter,

Editor and publisher