FORT STEWART, Ga. - Ready. Get set. Read!

For 'Read across America' 2012, Diamond Elementary School has planned a week of many activities, March 5-9, for Soldiers and Family Members alike in recognition of Dr. Seuss' birthday.

March 2nd marks Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday, which is recognized a week later for schools on Fort Stewart due to standardized TerraNova testing.

"On March 5th, we're going to have a read-in from 8 to 8:30 in the morning. For our AM pre-K and our kindergarten through sixth grade classes, they will be sitting in the hallways outside of their classrooms," said Rose Wood, Educational Technologist at Diamond. "There will be two ongoing weekly activities. We will be having a 'Build Your Lorax' character out of recycled materials for our students, and also a read-a-thon. We will have a Flash Mob at 1:30 p.m., March 7th, at our school. Yes, our staff will also be out there dancing. On March 9th, we'll have our guest readers."

During the March 5 morning event, Wood stated that they will have almost two miles of readers at Diamond. After completing the 'Build Your Lorax' character, Wood said that they can be turned into the Media Center.

"We have invited all of the commanders of all the units here on Fort Stewart, all of the tenant offices and all of the directors," she said. "We've invited celebrities; we don't know if they're coming or not, but they have been invited. We encourage parents to come out as well."

The mission behind the 'Read Across America' celebration at Diamond is to encourage reading.

For one student, 10-year-old Connor Brown, reading is fun because he places himself in the stories.

"Reading is like going on an adventure; you can imagine you're there," he said. "I think that kids should read at least 30 minutes a day, so that they can get more knowledge by reading."

And, for two 12-year-old students Shelby Logan and Georgia Gallahue, reading has led them to over a thousand reading count points in less than one school year.

"Reading counts is when you get on a computer and take a test," said Logan, who has 1,159 reading count points. "If we get 80 or above [on the test], sometimes 75, then we pass and get the points. Each book is a different amount of points."

Gallahue said that she has fun trying to reach the reading goals she set for herself. She currently has 1,114 reading count points.

"For elementary students and anybody, this brings them an opportunity to learn to enjoy reading," said Alicia Romans, Diamond librarian. "We want to encourage that, so that they become life-long readers."

Parents are invited to be guest readers. If you would like to be a guest reader, contact Diamond Elementary at 912-876-6094 and ask for Alicia Romans at the media center.

And, for her final message, Wood said, "Come and support us for 'Read Across America' week!"