“Cool School” comes to Hughes Springs Area Library

“Cool School with Ms. Maria…where school is number one and your children are the stars of the show!” Cool School lived up to its promise at Hughes Springs Area Library on July 14, when Ms. Maria shepherded about 40 children through language arts, reading, singing, dancing and even a little Spanish, and managed to make it all seem like a big party.
At one point, Ms. Maria introduced the kids to a vegetarian mouse named Max. Max hummed and purred when he was given a carrot, and even returned the favor with a kiss on the cheek. But, when he was fed a chicken leg, Max brought the kids to raucous laughter with very audible “indigestion.” Ms. Maria read a story to the children, and managed to get ten volunteers to come up to the front and dress like vowels for her “Vowel Village” song. She got them all on their feet to dance the “Reading Pokey”, then closed the morning with an air band.
Maria Smith is a veteran educator of 29 years. She has two adult sons and -- in addition to being a mother and an educator -- she has been entertaining and speaking for 15 years. “I incorporated as much music, art and creative expression as I could in my classrooms,” said Ms. Maria of her years in the DallasFt. Worth area, “but the demands of testing and curriculum requirements really restricted me as to how much time I could devote to artistic activities.” A graduate of Baylor University, Ms. Maria has a number of impressive honors to her name, among which are Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, and nominations for the Disney Teacher of the Year award in 2001, 2002, and 2003.
Ms. Maria’s approach to teaching is heavy on fun and audience participation – both of which were in abundance at Hughes Springs Area Library. For more information on Ms. Maria, visit her website, www.coolschoolwithmsmaria.com. For future summer events at the Hughes Springs Area Library, check out the Happenings section of the Steel Country Bee.