Before they got to the surprise, classes went on a scavenger hunt through the building deciphering riddles to gather clues to spell out “Book Vending Machine” and solve the riddle. As each class gathered around, students couldn’t wait to see the new machine brought to their school to help promote a love of reading.
“It’s got my favorites,” said one student as the vending machine was revealed.
Principal Sara Jewett said adding the vending machine to the school was one of her goals for this year and she’s happy to see it in place already. “What a giving community. We received a Thornapple Area Enrichment Foundation grant and community donations to make this possible,” she said.
Jewett said she hopes the vending machine helps promote a culture of reading at Lee Elementary School and excitement for books. “This is a way to reward students with reading rather than small toys and candy. There’s been a lot of research that shows rewards with reading helps build a culture of reading.”
The vending machine allows students to choose their own book - whether it’s something they know they like or something new they just want to try. “When they get to make their own choices it helps build that excitement for reading.”
Students earn tickets which can be exchanged for tokens by following the “Be Safe, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible” school expectations. Each week, Jewett will pull out tickets for winners and instead of trinket gifts they can use their tokens in the book vending machine.
“My hope is that every student will get at least one book out of the vending machine this school year,” said Jewett.
Each book selected by students is one they get to keep, take home and read over and over again. To show students how the vending machine works, each class was given one token and made one book selection for their classroom.
Jewett said she is thankful to the community for supporting this project. The school received the TAEF grant this fall and used PTO funds to help purchase books. The school also received community donations from Reds Sports Bar and Grill, Leaping Lizards Landscaping, Bultsma Construction, Greenmark Equipment, Del J. & Jean B. Doyle Family Foundation, and Adam and Jill Plummer.
Thank you to the TK community for supporting this project and helping build a culture of reading at Lee Elementary School.