The Goddard School teams up with Blue's Clues star for live stream reading record
The Goddard School (USA) has been supporting children and their families across the USA for over 37 years, creating a warm environment to care for and educate children from six weeks to six years old.
Every day, they teach and nurture nearly 100,000 children, contributing to their important early social, emotional and academic development.
The Goddard School wanted to kick off the new school year and celebrate the start of National Literacy Month (September) with something truly special involving students and faculty members from their more than 650 schools. Collectively, they attempted to set the Guinness World Records title for the most viewers for a reading live stream on YouTube.
6,535 viewers tuned in to the live stream to watch Steve Burns, the original host of the children’s show Blue’s Clues, read Curious Blueberry the Carousel House.
The record-breaking figure represents the number of devices that concurrently watched the live stream. In total, tens of thousands of students and teachers from the more than 650 Goddard Schools watched live, as thousands of classrooms tuned in from a single device in each room.
Curious Blueberry the Carousel House was written by award-winning author Steve Metzger and follows the journey of Blueberry and her colourful carousel animal friends who learn to find joy through their curiosity. The book includes cues for the reader to ask open-ended questions throughout the story, enabling an engaging and individualised experience for each child.
The event was held at The Goddard School of Manhattan (StuyTown) in New York City.
After the room was set up, groups of excited and chatty children shuffled in and sat on the carpet.
The school’s owner, Rami Singh, and Goddard Systems, LLC’s Chief Marketing Officer, Marcel Nahm, gave brief introductions before the attempt started.
Steve then began reading to the group of children in front of him and thousands more who were following along on the YouTube live stream.
He read for about 15 minutes to the delight of the children who sat down before him and watched him virtually.
The children were extremely excited to be part of a Guinness World Records attempt, with many of them curious to learn about world records.
Parents were also thrilled to see Steve, an iconic and beloved figure from their own childhood, passing on this heartwarming experience to a new generation of children.
Goddard Schools nurture the extraordinary capabilities of nearly 100,000 children every day, and now our faculty and students have collectively contributed to an extraordinary accomplishment: a Guinness World Records title. I know everyone across our system will always remember today and the power of working together to achieve something great. This life lesson will serve Goddard School students well throughout not just their academic careers, but also their personal and professional lives.” - Darin Harris, Chief Executive Officer of Goddard Systems, LLC, manager of The Goddard School franchise system
A recording of the livestream is available to enjoy here!