Just because it’s early August doesn’t mean it’s too early to start thinking about school.
Crowds of Little Village families gathered Wednesday in back of Maria Saucedo Scholastic Academy for the Chicago Public Schools-organized annual back to school bash, one of several events being held across the city this month.
The lesson of the day: maybe going back to school wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“I think it’s excellent,” said Kareem Pender, a CPS official responsible for planning Wednesday’s fest. “Schools are able to present information to parents [ahead of the school year] and give away school supplies.”
Children of all ages clamored about as their parents picked up brochures from the dozens of schools in attendance.
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CPS teachers and staff were available to speak to interested families about the upcoming school year, which begins Sept. 3.
There were plenty of free goodies — everything from hot dogs and ice cream to backpacks and water bottles.
One girl’s eyes glossed over the array of free books at the Whittier Dual Language Academy’s stand before choosing Rick Riordan’s “The Battle of the Labyrinth.”
The free coloring pages offered by the Center of the Arts drew the attention of other children.
Herding her daughters Maya and Sage — who were fixated on their melting ice cream cones — Stacy Buckner, 29, seemed to be having an excellent time, too.
Maya and Sage “get to have fun and get excited about going back to school,” said Buckner, who has been bringing her children to this annual event for three years now.
On the other side of school lot, children waited in line to get their faces painted, take a shot at throwing a toy axe or go down the inflatable slide.
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Tumbling out of the bouncy house, Souhaila Legaief, 9, was breathlessly exhilarated.
Her favorite part of the day? “The games.”
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