Virtual Reading: McKay School Principal Invites Community into his Home for Storytime

Since Boston Public Schools closed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Donald Mckay School’s Principal Jordan Weymer has been keeping his students engaged in a very unique way.

For over a month Weymer has been going live on his Facebook page, dressing up as characters from his students’ favorite books and hosting a virtual ‘storytime’.

McKay School Principal Jordan Weymer has been hosting virtual ‘storytime’ on the school’s Facebook page. For over a month Weymer has been dressing up as characters from his students’ favorite books. Here Weymer is dressed as the title character from “Thank You, Mr. Falker” by Patricia Polacco.

“Today we read one of my favorite books – “Thank You, Mr. Falker” by Patricia Polacco,” said Weymer last week dressed as the title character, Mr. Falker. “If you’ve ever been in the office, you’ll notice a copy of it in the entryway. It’s our daily reminder to be encouraging, caring, and kind. These are qualities that we see in all of our teachers and staff at the McKay who continue to bring their best to our school community day after day (and even on break!) as we adapt to new routines and new ways of teaching and learning. So to the teachers and staff, thank you.”

On Monday, Weymer dressed in purple garb as he read “Harold and the Purple Crayon” by Crockett Johnson.

Since beginning his virtual storytime Weymer has also donned an elephant hat for “I Will Take a Nap”, paper scales for  “The Rainbow Fish”, a bear mask for “Corduroy”, and had a little help from his son, Eli, while holding an umbrella and reading “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs”.

“Our Costume Director Eli has been popping into our read alouds more frequently to check on his work,” posted Weymer last week. “From hats to backdrops to Ducky and Turtle, Eli manages it all and helps us increase our production value.”

The storytime live feed also gives Weymer’s students the opportunity to check in with their favorite principal.

However, the storytime is not just limited to McKay School students. Any student can log-on to McKay’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dmckayK8/ and participate.

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