It wasn’t your typical special guest at Springfield Plains Elementary.
But Leo the horse brought smiles to the faces of many students and even staff and parents.
Teacher Jayne Bannister made the arrangements to have her 15-year-old daughter Jessica and Jessica’s horse visit, Tuesday, Oct. 7.
“We had a wonderful afternoon. When I look back on that day, it truly was an exciting sharing and learning experience,” Bannister said. “Many memories were made that day.’
There were a number of reasons Bannister wanted Leo to come to the school, but number one, she wanted a fun learning experience for students.
“Some students had not been around a horse. They learned about how to care for a horse, how to prepare to ride, how to brush and pet the horse, and what he eats. Jessica also demonstrated walk, trot and canter as she rode him on the playground area.”
Students were encouraged to think about and write out questions to ask Jessica and her trainer, Cammie Garrett.
“Leo also visited all four of our third grade classrooms,” Bannister said. “They have read or are about to read a story in their anthologies called, ‘Margaret Ziegler Is Horse-Crazy’ by Crescent Dragonwagon. The teachers knew that Leo would be appearing outside their classroom windows, but it was a surprise to most of the students.”
Each class had an opportunity to ask Garrett questions and pet Leo.
“This experience has brought to life the vocabulary and student interest in horses with their reading,” Bannister said, who has pictures of horses in her classroom including one with Leo and Jessica that reads “Ride into Reading.”
“The students were awesome. They were extremely polite and calm, even with feeling excited and a bit awed to see a horse at school.”