That Forest Festival Freedom Feeling

 I've noticed that my students have started to read my blog more frequently than in the past. As we were on a trip last week, one of them commented that I'd probably be writing about the experience here.

They were right.

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 was the annual Forest of Reading Festival for the Silver Birch category of nominees. Wednesday, May 15, 2024 was the second day of the festival, focused on the older readers and novels. It was a wonderful pair of days. The weather cooperated more than I thought it would.

The cheers and screams at the awards ceremonies were impressive. It can be intimidating and overwhelming to some, especially if you are an introverted writer faced with the tsunami of loud admiration.

As a teacher-librarian, it's a joy to connect with other school library professionals at this event. Adult supervisors who are new to bringing students to the Forest of Reading Festival are often worried about keeping a close eye on the young readers. It's a bit revelation for them to see that students can have a lot of freedom with where they wander and what they can do.

Even though we are deep in the heart of downtown, there are clear boundaries. As one of my teachers told her students, don't go further south because you'll fall in Lake Ontario; don't go further north by crossing the main street (Queen Quay); don't go further west by crossing the bridge and don't go further east by passing the black Harbourfront building. It's actually pretty nicely contained.

There's also a lot of things for students to do. If they have money, they can buy food and snacks from food trucks and vendors, or books. There are free things they can win or earn. There are autographs to collect. There are activities to undertake and even big spaces where students can run around. There are lots of educators on-site that can provide guidance and assistance to lost students who become separated from their groups. It's a chance for students to "choose their own adventure" and determine their own schedules. Some of my students planned their day thoroughly, with workshops to attend and autographs/selfies to collect. Some of my students had a harder time deciding what to do, and maybe that's because they don't have an opportunity to make these choices for themselves. I have a reputation as being a "cool cucumber" at the festival, bringing lots of kids but not looking stressed about it all. That just comes with experience. I've already had to deal with some of the "worst" scenarios so I'm not easily phased. (In the past, some students and I missed the school bus we rented and had to take the TTC back, which took 90 minutes. This year, a couple of students and I missed the GO Train and got split up from the rest of the group. It meant we got to Harbourfront an hour later than usual, but thankfully the award ceremony didn't start until 10:30 am so we didn't miss the whole thing.) 

It was great to see the students happy and active. Here's a photo of some of my students participating in the Junior Librarian activity at Harbourfront.

Thank you to all the teachers who helped supervise, organize all the paperwork and support our student readers. This coming week is School Concert time - get ready, get set, go!