Gainesboro Elementary School turned reading night into an underwater adventure designed to give students a hands-on experience.
Kindergarten and First-Grade Special Education Teacher Katy Caine created the shipwreck-themed attraction with Disney villains, vocabulary exercises and sensory activities tied to marine life.
“And then, you know, we try to make it as kid-friendly as possible so it’s not too scary,” Caine said, “But it’s a lot of fun and I just wanted them to have an experience that they might not have, you know, if they don’t venture out of Jackson County much.”
Caine said covered sensory bins challenge students to read facts about sea creatures before reaching inside. A foam ball with toothpicks represents a sea urchin, slime represents a Portuguese man-of-war and objects placed in water become baby sea snakes.
“It’s funny because you know they’re very, when they’re reaching into these bins that they can’t see in, they’re very timid at first, but then once they start feeling it and then you know they use their sense of touch, they kind of figure it out,” Caine said. “Then they’ll yell out ‘oh the shark’s teeth, they’re candy corn’ and all that stuff, so it’s fun to watch them kind of break through that being scared you know barrier, of afraid to try things.”
Caine said reading continues throughout the attraction. Signs featuring phrases such as “walk the plank” and “poor unfortunate souls” introduce words that can prompt conversations between children and their parents.
Caine said the school started using a haunted house last year to encourage families to attend reading night. This year’s ocean theme inspired her to create an underwater shipwreck and expand the sensory elements.
Caine painted much of the attraction herself and received help from staff and friends to assemble it. She said her own childhood experiences at theme parks inspired the effort to create something unusual for Jackson County students.
“Well, because I grew up, you know, I was a pretty privileged child, so I got to go and experience Disney World and you know all of those, the Dollywood and the Six Flags, and you know going through on a ride where things are you know all lit up and glowing and moving and that sort of thing, and I just want them to have that sort of experience too,” Caine said.
Caine credited Reece and Marley Wooten for helping with the project. Marley painted an anglerfish used in the attraction, while Reece played a pirate responsible for a jump scare at the end.
Caine said the school plans to keep the attraction open through Friday so students who missed reading night can experience it during Halloween activities.
“I hope it’s a core memory, I hope it’s something that they can look back on and be like, ‘hey, do you remember that haunted house, it was so cool’,” Caine said. “And then maybe you know do it if they go into the teaching profession or even you know if they don’t, maybe they’ll be on PTO and they’ll want to put something together like that for their children or their grandchildren.”