Black Stallion Literacy Project at Riverside Elementary
For the second consecutive
year, RREC
organized and funded the Black Stallion Literacy Project at
for the first grade at Riverside Elementary School in Rochester.
For many of the students this was their
first contact with a horse. The aim of this project is
to harness a child's natural enthusiasm and fascination with
horses into a passion for reading. On April 14, each
student was given a hardcover copy of "Little Black, A Pony,"
by Walter Farley, author of the best-selling The Black
Stallion books. Then the students went outside to view two
ponies brought to the school by the RREC.
Teachers at Riverside say first grade is a critical year for
children, because solid reading skills establish the
foundation for success in later grades.
Riverside teachers have been building a curriculum around this
project. This program has been implemented in 11 other states,
and Riverside Elementary is the first school in
Minnesota to adopt the program.
On May 12, the first-graders were bused
to Ironwood Springs Ranch for their "second touch" in
the program. There, surrounded by hay bales, they read
their favorite passage to a horse and learned more about horses
— what they eat, their grooming and the kind of tack they use.
At the conclusion each student was given their second free book, "Little Black
Goes to the Circus."
Below are some pictures from the event.
Left click on any picture below to enlarge it
and then right click if
Project at
for the first grade at Riverside Elementary School in Rochester.
For many of the students this was their
first contact with a horse. The aim of this project is
to harness a child's natural enthusiasm and fascination with
horses into a passion for reading. On April 14, each
student was given a hardcover copy of "Little Black, A Pony,"
by Walter Farley, author of the best-selling The Black
Stallion books. Then the students went outside to view two
ponies brought to the school by the RREC. 
On May 12, the first-graders were bused
to Ironwood Springs Ranch for their "second touch" in
the program. There, surrounded by hay bales, they read
their favorite passage to a horse and learned more about horses
— what they eat, their grooming and the kind of tack they use.
At the conclusion each student was given their second free book, "Little Black
Goes to the Circus."
