First grade teachers know the key to learning. If I write the number seven is masking it with fun, whether it's math in the morning or put your hands on your hats please. What's coming next? So we are Going to move to our reading rounds. Such *** highlight. These first graders hop to their cubbies to grab their buddies who've been waiting all day for this 20 minutes. Maddox's bear and eva's friend Ariel get to sit on their laps and hang on. Every word. Learning to read is hard. The nap on the mat and teachers know confidence is key. I'm *** little bit learning about the green but to help here in Eagle Grove Elementary mrs Peterson's first graders all have *** personalized listener. My bear has farmed stuff on it and the event has *** pocket that I can put stuff into it. Who won't make fun of kids wrestling with the words I see sometimes I get mixed up in the bear, tells me not to sound it out so I do and then I sound ditto and it gets better. Personal reading buddies sit in these little laps and just listen 20 minutes every day. It makes it better because it feels like I got someone to read with, which is exactly why 20 miles away. Okay, Deb townsend's thread just found its needle her passion project that's coming together. This is the tummy piece, one tummy at *** time. One little chubby tummies and little chubby legs. You see when she was in elementary, I was probably eight years old. Deb learned to sew. But when her daughter became *** teacher and shared stories of the struggles. So many kids face. What I'm finding out is there *** lot of kids that don't have *** lot of things. Deb grab some fun fabric and dove in. This is the head head first, making sure every bear she makes is as unique as the seven year olds who will get them. *** lot of the students that the bears are for um english is not their first language and she's been told first generation readers can help their moms and dads navigate life. You know, it's really important for us to do *** good job with these kids so that they grow up and they can help their whole family. So Deb invest three hours building each bear boys like them, girls like them and more time hands stuffing them knowing when she delivers them the first week of school, once they pick their bear, they hold it like *** baby cat. Mrs Peterson's class suddenly looks forward to reading things. Couldn't be better with their buddies in their laps. Hey, your class, So does Mrs Conaway's class, let's have my Purple roll, Go get your book bags please because this year, what color are pumpkin? Deb Townsend has hand sewed reading buddies for every first grader in Eagle Grove and in humboldt plus more entire classes in Webster City and Grundy Center. In fact she's made 1600 of them for kids like maddox at home. I have *** baby brother, I kind of read to him. It's kind of like that and Henry because he keeps company for me while I'm reading and their teachers Comes on, they tell Deb their class, Reading scores have soared since her bears moved in. Now. It improved last year too, but this improved 120% more than the previous year. I know I'd be foolish to say Reading Buddies was the only reason why. But I do think it helps. I really do because we can snuggle and we can read *** book through them, helps me to read better. So it helps me to keep working on books that I don't really know the words to it and it helps me figure out what the word is because english is tough weeks with but it gets better with each page. Sure you could buy bears in bulk but they wouldn't be personal. They're all different. They're all unique. They all have like something special to them. I think that's what's really cool about them is that she takes the time. They're just so you know, amazingly made hand stuffed with love. So classrooms of seven year olds. Deb doesn't even know can have *** listening ear built especially for them, *** warthogs nose isn't pretty but it's the perfect food finder