Georgia Reading Association

We’ll share this every year on Johnny Appleseed Day! It’s the day we remember an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to many areas of the continent. His generous and kind way made him a symbol of the importance of apples and a key leader in conservation.
In Henry County, we had our very own Johnny Appleseed--the beloved Harry Werner! Harry was an educator, school administrator, loving family man, jelly maker extraordinaire, and "Johnny Appleseed" to hundreds (thousands?) of Henry County school children. Harry Werner was also a faithful supporter of Ferst Readers of Henry County. Johnny Appleseed Day

Don't miss our next Literacy Learning Series session this Tuesday. Open to all educators - FREE! Just be sure to register on our website before hand to receive the link. See below for more information.

GALA Literacy Learning Series #5 GALA Literacy Learning Series #5 The Georgia Association of Literacy Advocates

We would love to have submissions for our upcoming Focus newsletter. Please see the details in the following document.

FOCUS Newsletter FOCUS Newsletter Georgia Association of Literacy Advocates (GALA)

Please join us for our latest Literacy Learning event; free event, just pre-register.

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Calling all educators:

FOCUS Newsletter FOCUS Newsletter Georgia Association of Literacy Advocates (GALA)

GALA Literacy Learning Series #4 GALA Literacy Learning Series #4 The Georgia Association of Literacy Advocates

We are excited to announce our speaker for the second GALA's Literacy Learning Series is Author and Literacy Consultant, Dr. Jan Burkins!

Join us on Wednesday, October 19th from 3:30 - 4:30 for the Question and Answer Webinar. Free to all educators!

I was down at the lake a few days ago, standing and admiring a gaggle of goslings, when a woman came and stood beside me.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” she said.
“They are,” I said. “I can’t quite get over the perfection of them.”
We stood there, marveling together while an adult goose watched us in return.
The woman said, “You wrote The Tale of Despereaux, didn’t you?”
“I did!” I said, turning to her.
“My son loved that book when he was small. He used to go around shouting, ‘Do you think rats do not have hearts? Wrong!’”
“Wow,” I said. “I don’t even remember that line.”
“He’s grown up now,” said the woman. “An engineer. A lovely human being.”
“Tell him I said ‘hello,” I said.
“I will,” said the woman.
When I got back home, I pulled a copy of Despereaux off the shelf and flipped through it, looking for the line about rats and hearts.
It took me awhile, but I found it:

“Did you think that rats do not have hearts? Wrong. All living things have a heart. And the heart of any living thing can be broken.”

I read those lines and thought about the goslings and the goose parent and the woman and her young son who is now grown and oh, all of it.
All the world, all the living things, all the hearts.

Ready, Set, Write! ✏️Georgia students in K-3 can submit an original story with illustrations for GPB Education's 2022 PBS KIDS Writers Contest. The deadline to enter is April 15.

Rules & more info: www.gpb.org/writers