From the Weymouth News 1/5/2005

Kids Who Kare express speeds up
By Jeanne M. Rideout/ Correspondent
Wednesday, January 5, 2005

 

Kids Who Kare, a group of four talented Weymouth students, have added a new twist to their story time held at 4 p.m. every other Friday during the school year at the Tufts Library Children's Room.
 
     They aren Monica, 11, and Michael Sinopoli, 9, Brendan Adams, 9, and Amanda Harris, 10.
 
     In their second year of offering a children's story and a theme-related activity to young people, Kids Who Kare now act out many of the stories. Favorites done since September include "First Day of School Jitters," "The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything," "Miss Moo Goes to the Zoo," "The Perfect Thanksgiving," and "Gingerbread Baby."
 
     "As you can imagine, since they have added this new twist to their stories, the Kids have had to increase their prep time to allow for rehearsals, which they do willingly," mother Sherie Harris said. "They have truly embraced their program and work hard to ensure a fun time for all. Once they finish a session, it's back to work for the next one, which is two weeks away."
 
     Each week, between 12 and 50 youngsters come to the program. The ever-increasing following of the group has earned the nickname "rock stars" by library director Joanne Lamothe.
 
     "Their crafts this year are also quite unique. Although they never know how many youngsters will join them, they're always prepared," Harris said. "They have learned to make just about anything from materials that many would discard."
 
     This resourcefulness is helpful in keeping down the costs of materials for the crafts projects. Kids Who Kare is still covering all expenses themselves, while seeking a corporate sponsor to help out.
 
     At the group's last session on Dec. 17, Kids Who Care performed "The Polar Express," inspired by the popular movie starring Tom Hanks. The G-rated movie is based on the storybook by Chris Van Allsburg. The theme is a child's need to believe. The story centers on a breathtaking journey taken by a boy when he boards a magical nighttime train with a magical conductor and heads for the North Pole to meet Santa Claus. For the craft activity, the children made Christmas necklaces and their own "Polar Express" trains.
 
     Harris commended Kids Who Kare for keeping up the stellar work.
 
     "Today, with everybody's busy, hectic lifestyles and, most importantly, the demands of a very challenging school curriculum, to have a group of children dedicate the time such as these Kids do is unbelievable. As they have often said, their reward is the good feeling they get inside when they are making kids happy," Harris said. "They are very proud of their program, as they should be. They have demonstrated over the past year-and-a-half that they are very committed to 'making a difference' in the community in which they live."