Logan Hosts Reading Night in West Frankfort

Dr. Marilyn Toliver paints a child's face

Dr. Marilyn Toliver, professor of Early Childhood Education at John A. Logan College, paints a heart on the forehead of Seth Petkas of West Frankfort during a fun event Tuesday night, Nov. 13, to encourage good reading habits. More than 90 children and parents turned out for National Family Reading Night sponsored by the John A. Logan College Parent Involvement Class and held at Rascal X-Press Child Care Center in West Frankfort. Face painting was part of the event, children were also offered free books, food and drinks, and they participated in other games before the evening ended with story reading time. Here, Seth's sister, Shalee, holds back his hair so Toliver can apply the paint. Toliver said she was very pleased with the success of the event and happy to be able to speak to so many parents and children about the importance of reading.

A second Family Reading Night event took place in the College's conference center in conjunction with Logan Preschool on Thursday, November 15. It was also very successful and Dr. Toliver gives the credit to her students.

"The students in my classes were responsible for planning, organizing, and implementing these events, and they did a wonderful job," Toliver said. "They solicited businesses and organizations for donations and worked with the staffs at the preschools to get the word out about the events. They worked extremely hard and I'm so pleased with their efforts."