The students in the Britton-Hecla afterschool program, better known as the FUNtastic Club, are a creative bunch. For the second year in a row, the club wrote, illustrated and published their own original book. Last week, a special event was held to share their creation with their families.
The FUNtastic Club is an afterschool program organized through the Britton-Hecla School District. It is made up of kindergarten through fourth grade students and provides a place for kids to go after school until 5:30. There are 30 kids in the program this year, with about 24 attending on the average day. The club is led by Carol Beck and Renee Olson.
Beck explains that the group has received a grant from the Donald Naddy Fund to help with various projects, including the book they made this year. This is the second year the club made a book. The title and theme last year was “Animal Alliterative Adventure.” The idea to do the project came from Olson who said she saw it in an email a year or two back.
This year the topic for the club’s book was “If I Were A….” The kids each chose a profession. They then wrote their own page about what they would do if they had that job and also illustrated a picture of it. The young writers chose a diverse range of jobs from cowboy to doctor to football player.
After completing their write-ups and pictures, the pages were sent off, compiled and bound into a real storybook. And thanks to the Naddy Grant funds, each student receives a copy of the book.
Their teachers confirmed that when they get their books, the writers are very proud of themselves. “They can’t believe that they wrote a book,” said Olson. “They are so imaginative.”
Last week, the FUNtastic Club hosted a reading of their new book where their parents attended. Each student read their own page and even got a chance to sign their book at the end.
For their part, both Beck and Olson couldn’t be more proud of the work their students put in on the project. “It’s so rewarding to see what these kids can do,” said Olson.
