Sydney the Event Coordinator

   Let me start by saying, holy smokes I did it!  Last night was my first Family Reading Night for my Washington Reading Corps site.  What is Washington Reading Corps you ask?  Well let me tell you.  I am lucky enough (except for living below the poverty line) to be working for AmeriCorps.  What is AmeriCorps? Shame on you for asking. Well I was hired through AmeriCorps to work with the WRC, which means I am now working as a reading tutor/volunteer recruiter/event coordinator at L.P. Brown Elementary School in Olympia.  I work with small reading groups in Kindergarten, and 3rd and 4th grade.  I started up a lunch time reading group, have been constantly recruiting volunteers for the 3rd-5th grade classrooms, and hang out with an awesome teacher during her class' reading time.  So far it has been a great learning experience...and my mom was right...I should work in the schools. 
   Back to the beginning.  Another part of my job is to plan a couple of family reading nights for the school; which is what I've been doing for the last month or so.  There is a lot of planning involved in such a simple 1 hour event.  I spent hours handing out donation letters, calling people back to collect the donations, and making sure I have volunteers to help me out.  The theme: "Choose Your Own Adventure".  The idea: three rooms with different adventure stories read aloud in each.  Wild West, Mummies, and Pirates, oh my!  I had some awesome support from teachers who read some stories, and even stole my lovely girlfriend for some read aloud as well.  Then she grew something fearful of SkippyJon Jone's and handed it off the Jess to read a couple of times.  Managed to draw up some decorations in time and had some killer organic cookies donated from a cool lady who owns 8 Arms Bakery.  75 people (40 kids) showed up and all had a blast. Which relieved the knots in my tummy (and they were promptly replaced by eating too many cookies).  Parents even told me they would come to next one...which means I have to plan a next one...hmmmmm. 
   Lessons learned: have a more established mingle area for families as they arrive and start the hot chocolate a little bit earlier.  I guess I can't really call this a misadventure.  Shucks.