ANABELLE AND HER FRIENDS
MAKE LEARNING FUN!
Annabelle is a colorful giraffe whose optimism is as bright as her spots – and she’s the star of the Annabelle’s Best Ever series by author and illustrator, Rhonda Atkins Leonard.
No matter the situation, Annabelle always looks for the silver lining. She wants to make every day the best ever, and she encourages her eclectic group of friends to do the same – Mingo Rose the Elephant, Leonard the Lion, Rico the Cheetah, Glory the Zebra and Gazzie the Gazelle.
Annabelle and friends are preparing for a lifetime of adventures and teach lessons along the way to their young fans – to love their friends, for instance, or that it is normal to be scared.
3 Time Winner SC Department of Education Innovation Grant
OUR GOAL
IS TO MAKE LEARNING FUN AND ENGAGING
Early childhood learning is key to a student’s long-term success, and the Annabelle series with accompanying content and assessments is a solution to get children ready and prepared for kindergarten.
Annabelle and the CoGlo Amigos offer a complete package of standards-aligned lessons and assessments for each nine weeks for teachers to use that can be adapted, expanded, and enhanced in every state to meet the needs of your children.
PROVEN
Prompted by the need to increase early childhood learning in South Carolina, CoGlo Amigos applied for an Innovation Grant through the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) to provide print and video content to 4-year-old children in the home and in classrooms to help fill the void created by pandemic-related disruption and to better prepare students for kindergarten. These children’s books and videos were developed based on South Carolina’s Early Learning Standards and competencies from the S.C. Profile of the Ready Kindergartner. CoGlo Amigos was awarded the grant to fund the animation series, books for teachers, parents, and students, curriculum development, and evaluation of the project that will be a model for other states to address needs and deficiencies in early childhood education.
RESULTS
Before statewide implementation in the 2023-24 school year, CoGlo Amigos conducted a pilot program in Upstate South Carolina in Spring 2023, offering the program to public and private 4K classrooms. This opportunity included a pre- and post-assessment, 10 lessons aligned to South Carolina Early Learning Standards, parent activities, the Annabelle plushie, and a copy of to the teacher and all students in every pilot classroom. Professional development was offered to teachers in February 2023, and implementation of the project began in March 2023. Following implementation, analysis of the assessment results was conducted in April 2023, which included surveys administered to teachers that provide feedback to make improvements to the lesson plans and the overall process.