Children and Adults learn as they PLAY...

Children play. Children learn as they play. Play alongside children and watch what you learn too! We have hosted 43 Play and Learn groups (for children birth to five years old) in San Antonio during the past 5 months and we have loved watching the families all grow. Sharing the messages that, "Any time is learning time," "The classroom just got bigger," and "You are the child's first and most important teacher," are statements of great power.

At the Play and Learns, families are having FUN as they are learning from each other and exchanging ideas. Children are given the opportunity to socialize with others, sharing materials, singing songs, and getting messy with art activities! Parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, family members, friends, and neighbors are all joining in too!

When you were a child, what was your favorite past time? Who were your playmates? We look forward to having you attend our Play and Learns too. Join us as we go on "bear hunts," safaris, paint murals, build tiny towns, share story time, and go on marching parades! To learn more, call us at 270-9000!

Grab your magnifying glass!

If you have tuned into KLRN at 7:30am anytime Monday through Friday you've already entered the world of scientific exploration with Sid, May, Gabriella, Gerald, Teacher Suzie, and Baby Zeke. We are really excited to share that we have now kicked off our Sid the Science Kid workshops in San Antonio! Today was our first science lab at Washington Elementary and we had a great bunch who shared their excitement with the group! We have 19 more labs to go in 2009 and we hope to see you there! Take your magnifying glass out, get your science journal in your hand, and come learn with us about Sid the Science Kid! Be on the lookout for our dates that we will post as the months go by.

Sid will make a special appearance as he joins us on June 6th at Rosedale Park (303 Dartmouth)! So bring your cameras and your smiles and grab a hug from Sid the Science Kid!

Energy, Creativity, and Markers... Reading Rainbow!

During this year's Reading Rainbow contest, we were very lucky to read stories with characters like alligators, poodles in Paris, rainbow fruit, and the missing letter "m." Writers entertained us with stories about stamps who travel the world, a dog and cat who become friends, and a king who gives his daughter the world in her hands. This year we had an absolutely amazing response to our 15th Annual Young Writers and Illustrators Contest as we read 265 entries! Stories poured in from Bandera, Boerne, Bulverde, Cibolo, Converse, Devine, Elmendorf, Fair Oaks Ranch, Floresville, Gonzales, Harper, Helotes, Kirby, La Vernia, Lacosti, Leakey, Live Oak, Lytle, Mountain Home, New Braunfels, Pipe Creek, San Antonio, Schertz, Seguin, Somerset, Tarpley, and Universal City! Whew, that was a handful.

Over 450 people joined Mr. Steve and Miffy at our celebration on May 3rd in KLRN's Tobin Studio. The children arrived with smiles plastered on their faces and with amazing energy and excitement! Singing along, clapping, and grinning from ear to ear, children were involved in Mr. Steve's performance. One lucky second grader even strummed on Mr. Steve's guitar! Madison, KLRN's past national winner from 2001, joined us. She even read her winning entry with the families!

During the awards presentation, stunned and excited parents and winners popped up from the crowd when the entries appeared on the screen. Congratulations to all of the children who submitted a story and congratulations to the winners too! First place winners received a laptop donated by Mr. and Mrs. Vollmer, second place winners received a Leap Frog gift pack, and third place winners received a Reading Rainbow gift pack. Thank you to H-E-B and the Gladys Dalkovitz Fund for the generous support! Thank you to everyone who supported the contest and event. Thank you to Miffy for sharing warm hugs with the children too!

Check out our page on klrn.org/readingrainbow.

Looking forward to next year!