Hey diddle diddle, You all know the riddle, A cow jumps over the moon…But the moon is very high in the sky. How many attempts will it take before Cow makes her famous high-flying leap? The leaping, high-flying cow had the young audience in stitches last Wednesday at the St Edward’s Primary School reading for National Simultaneous Storytime. The School joined the rest of the country for the annual event with children from the Canowindra Pre-School attending as well. National Simultaneous Storytime (NSS) is an annual campaign that aims to encourage more young Australians to read and enjoy books. Now in its 17th successful year, it is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children’s book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum for Kindergarten to Year 6.
National Simultaneous Storytime is held annually by the Australian Library and Information Association. Every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country. Librarian of St Edward’s Primary School Mrs Fisher dressed in her cow-onesie and all the children dressed in black and white with cow masks at the ready sat and listened intently as the story was read while being projected onto a big screen for everyone to see. The book The Cow Tripped Over the Moon by Tony Wilson is a story about friendship and perseverance. It is also a story about cows smacking into meteorites and hot air balloons and sand dunes. The children laughed and giggled and confidently answered the questions asked by Mrs Fisher.
The Pre-Schoolers were then invited to stay on and try out the new playground equipment which they loved! It was great to see so many siblings all together in the one room enjoying the story and then out in the playground, showing the little ones the ropes of “Big School”.