Acclaimed actor and longtime host of the children’s program Reading Rainbow, LeVar Burton visited the children of Edison Elementary recently, reading to them and introducing the Reading Rainbow app and its new musical component “Music Mountain Island.”
Burton read The Drum Circle, complete with accompanying drum sounds, to several hundred Kindergarteners, first and second graders in two sessions on Friday, February 28, in the Edison auditorium.The youngsters could read along with the book projected on the auditorium screen, just as if they were watching the Reading Rainbow television program in years past.
The program was put on to celebrate “Music In Our Schools” month for March and “Read Across America” day on March 1, promoted by the National Education Association (NEA.)
Joined by his Reading Rainbow partner Mark Wolfe, the duo talked about their new partnership with early-childhood music program Kindermusik and showed the children some of the activities available for music and reading on the app. Jamie Sterling and Kelsey Springsted from Kindermusik led the children in some active renditions of favorite songs.
“Being a part of the Reading Rainbow mission for as long as I have, it always thrills me when we can engage kids around the subject of loving the written word and the impact it can have on your life,” commented Burton. “I’m really happy to have this relationship with Kindermusik and introducing the idea of music and reading being so closely aligned for kids.”
“The research does indeed show that music as an activity, half an hour a day, will actually increase your reading skills. And, it helps the functionality of the parts of the brain used during the activity of reading,” explained Burton.
“I just want kids to read and any way we can get them to do that, I’m all for,” he continued. “We used the medium of television back in the 80s to do it.”
“Now with tablet computers and through our relationship with Kindermusik, we are doing it through the office of something everyone around the world has in common: we all share stories and we all have musical traditions,” Burton added.
The actor is remembered by generations of people for his landmark roles in Roots and Star Trek: The Next Generation. As the host of Reading Rainbow, Burton has reached millions of children over the past 30 years, first on television and now through the interactive application available for tablet computers.
Burton and Wolfe asked the children if they knew what an app was at the start of the program. Interestingly, most of children raised their hands. Burton demonstrated features of the app, which is remarkably similar to its predecessor, the television show. Reading Rainbow ended its television run in 2006.
“We hope you become lifelong readers and listen to music all of your lives,” Burton told the children at the end of the read-and-sing-along and referenced the closing phrase on the children’s show, “But you don’t have to take our word for it…”
