Warm, fuzzy reading

Marisa O’Neil

Jan Scheer’s students like to read so much, they read just so they

can read more.

Students lounged around the fifth-grade classroom at Mariners

Elementary School Friday, flopped on beanbag chairs and curled up

under blankets. All of them quietly perused their books during Camp

Read, a special day Scheer -- Newport-Mesa’s teacher of the year --

gave them as a reward for meeting a reading challenge in class.

If they read a set number of books and pass reading quizzes on the

material, they get a whole day to read anything they want. And if

they don’t bring in their own books, they can choose one of the 1,000

Scheer has in her room.

“They really like Camp Read because they get to wear pajamas,

bring in blankets and read the whole day,” Scheer said. “It’s calm.

And they really like to read.”

At one end of the room, 10-year-old Jillian Paul, wearing tie-dye

pajamas and fuzzy slippers, shared a purple beanbag with classmate

Meghan Nance. Meghan, clad in Paul Frank jammies and cuddling a

stuffed Minnie Mouse, was reading “Little Women.”

“This is fun,” Jillian said. “You don’t have to do any work, you

just get to read. And you get to eat in class,” she added, pointing

to a bag of cheddar Goldfish crackers.

Bianca Barnes, wearing a leopard-print top and striped stockings,

had her own beanbag chair. She hid, incognito, behind her

rhinestone-encrusted cat-eye sunglasses and read a book about Helen

Keller.

“I like reading a lot,” she said. “It’s fun to cuddle up in a

beanbag chair and read.”

In the middle of the room, 10-year-olds Mark Sakioka and Chandler

Gregory sprawled on a giant, black beanbag chair. Three other boys

sat on the floor, leaning against it.

“This is cool because you get to eat candy,” Mark said as he set

his book down and picked up a plastic bag filled with sweets. “We’ve

got Nerds, Sour Patch--”

“Anything with sugar in it,” Chandler chimed in.