Schools
Cornelia Students Join Summer Reading, Math Clubs in Droves
About 260 students have signed up to come into their elementary this summer to discuss books they've read and to play math games.
Cornelia Elementary students have been going to school this summer—and enjoying it.
About 260 students have participated in the school's summer reading and math clubs, signing up for weekly book assignments, using iPads and computers to research novels they read, and playing math games.
The book club started last summer with funding from the Edina Education Fund.
“It was a bigger success than I expected,” Jen Baumgarten, Cornelia's Learning Skills Specialist, who started the book club, said in a statement. “Every student at the park received five books and a journal to get started with before the first day of Book Club.”
This summer the program expanded from three weeks to six, with students coming in to Cornelia for two hours on Tuesdays to discuss what they've read.
“We want to help the students see that reading can be fun and a great hobby,” Baumgarten said. “And it really is working.”
The program also added a math program this summer, where students are prompted to create their own games focusing on fundamentals such as multiplication and subtraction.
“We play the games in large and small groups during Math club, then I give copies of the games to the students to take home,” said Heather Edam, who helped develop the program. “I do this so they can keep practicing their math facts with their parents and hopefully come into school next fall remembering most of what they have learned here.”
For more on the program, visit the Edina Schools website.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
