Ryers Readers - The Dot

Episode Date: May 3, 2023

Just make a mark. That one little dot could be the start of something beautiful!

Let's do this. Thank you so much for tuning into today's story. Don't forget to tell your grown-up to go check out the Ryer's Reader's Instagram for more fun content. Before we get into the story, do you want to know a fun fact? Did you know the first artists hundreds of years ago used ashes from fire, red clay, and natural colors from plants and flowers to create their art? Today, artists have so many different ways to create their art. Paints, crayons, pencils, computers, paper, pretty much anything you can think of.

But no matter when or with what you create your art with, everyone has to start the same way. Just make a mark. Pretty cool, huh? Okay, story time. Today, we are going to read, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Class was over, but Vashty sat glued to her chair. Her paper was empty.

Vashti's teacher leaned over the blank paper. Polar Bear in a snowstorm, she said. Very funny, said Vashty. I just can't draw. Her teacher smiled. Just make a mark and see where it takes you. Vashti grabbed a marker and gave the paper a good, strong jab. There!

Her teacher picked up the paper and studied it carefully. She pushed the paper towards Vashti and quietly said, Now sign it. Vashti thought for a moment, Well, maybe I can't draw, but I can sign my name. The next week, When Vashti walked into art class, she was surprised to see what was hanging above her teacher's desk. It was the little dot.

She had drawn. Her dot. All framed in swirly gold. I can make a dot better than that. She opened her never-before-used set of watercolors and set to work. Vashty painted and painted. A red dot. A purple dot.

A yellow dot, a blue dot. The blue mixed with the yellow. She discovered that she could make a green dot. Vashti kept experimenting. Lots of little dots in many colors. If I can make little dots, I can make big dots too. Vashti splashed her colors with a bigger brush on a bigger paper to make bigger dots. Vashti even made a dot by not painting a dot.

At the school art show a few weeks later, Vashti's many dots made quite a splash. Vashti noticed a little boy gazing up at her. You're a really great artist. I wish I could draw, he said. I bet you can, said Vashti. Me? No, not me. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler.

Vashti smiled. She handed the boy a blank sheet of paper. Show me. The boy's pencil shook as he drew his line. Vashti stared at the boy's squiggle. And then she said, sign it. Don't forget to stick around to see if you can answer today's paying attention question. Before you go, do you think you can answer today's paying attention question?

Vashti mixed her blue paint with her yellow paint. What color dot did she make? If your answer was green, you did it! Great job! You sure were paying attention. I hope you enjoyed that story. I wonder what we're going to read next.