Vicky Watson reads to the youngest group of children at Wonderland Child Care Center.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — Vicky Watson reads to the youngest group of children at Wonderland Child Care Center.

“She displays such enthusiasm as she reads and sings to the children; they are naturally drawn to her,” said Beth Crawford, owner of Wonderland Child Care Center.

Watson is one of several retired Colquitt County School System teachers who model quality read-aloud instruction to the children at Wonderland and at LifeSpring Child Care Center through a grant initiative sponsored by the Colquitt County Schools’ Birth to Five Striving Reader Grant.

“Children, including infants, are so excited when the retired teachers come to our center,’ Crawford said. ‘The contentment and emotion on their faces as they listen intently is proof of the power of learning to read.”