Kids Get Excited About Dictionaries

submitted by Ellen Wadsworth

PLATO, MISSOURI - The 3rd Grade classes at the Plato Elementary School received a long distance surprise on Monday, January 21, 2008, when Ellen Wadsworth (Betsy Huber's daughter), a Plato resident and member of the Goshen Grange #121, West Chester, Pennsylvania, treated the classes to new dictionaries.

The dictionaries were donated to Plato Elementary School as part of The Dictionary Project. Goshen Grange is a member of the Pennsylvania State Grange and is located in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

The Grange is a family fraternal organization, originally founded in 1867 to provide assistance to farmers living in rural areas all across the nation. Today the Grange works in all areas of the country to promote community service, education, legislation and fellowship.

The Dictionary Project began in 1992 to provide a dictionary to every third grade student in South Carolina and was so popular that in 1997 it expanded to reach every student in the United States. The Dictionary Project pairs with other organizations and individuals who sponsor a school or class and purchase dictionaries for that class. Since the beginning of the The Dictionary Project in 1992, over 1.25 million children across the United States have received dictionaries as a result of this tremendous program and its partnering with community organizations.

For more information on Grange, please visit the National Grange website: www.nationalgrange.org or the Pennsylvania Grange website: www.pagrange.org. For more information on The Dictionary Project, please visit www.dictionaryproject.org

Ellen Wadsworth and daughter Grace on far left