When Pinedale Elementary Assistant Principal Kevan Kennington told me he was going to challenge the families in our community to read a million minutes I thought it was a great idea. But to be honest, I didn’t give a lot of thought to how much reading that really is. In today’s society of billion dollar budget deficits, its easy to forget what a million of anything actually means.
A million dollars (in dollar bills) weighs roughly 1.1 tons. You would have to circle the Earth nearly 40 times to go a million miles. The featured event for the conclusion of the Million Minutes Family Reading Project will be Dave “Cannonball” Smith being shot out of a cannon. He holds the world record at over 185 ft. To go one million feet, Mr. Smith would have to be shot out of his cannon over 5,405 times.
If we reach our goal of one million family reading minutes, together we will have read the equivalent of 1.9 years of uninterrupted reading. Whether or not you think a million is a big number, that’s impressive. Currently, we are on target to meet and surpass our goal. Many thanks to Mr. Kennington, his committee, and our families for all of their work, and KEEP READING!