Before entering school at Head O’ Meadow Elementary School on Tuesday, September 30, students first had to make their way through a protest.

Head O’ Meadow Library/Media Specialist Bev Bjorklund explained that before the event, students at the Boggs Hill Road school had read The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt in class, and the staged protest was held as a celebration of that reading experience.

Activities at the school have also been focused on the book, with grade levels completing different tasks. The fourth grade students, for example, wrote letters to crayons explaining why they do not want them to quit.

Mr Daywalt’s book tells the story of a boy who finds his crayons have quit, for a range of reasons, and what he does to appease the crayons.

To portray the crayons on Tuesday, school staff wore costumes of different colored crayons and a Crayola box. They also held up signs explaining why they were quitting.

“Color with kindness,” one sign read. “Don’t wear us out,” another said. “Blue crayon shouts, ‘use us or lose us,’” read another.

“Today is the day the crayons quit,” said Ms Bjorklund, who wore a pink crayon costume for the morning.

Students responded differently to the protest. Some walked by speechless, while others ran up to hug their favorite color or teacher.