Reading in Your School, Mae dos Pobres

A bright Tuesday morning. The team is zipping down to Nuvem earlier then usual. Today is no regular LiS day at Mae dos Pobres….today is the Reading in your School event.

We called ahead to let the principal; Vilma Henriques; know that we are already on our way.

We are excited. They are excited (she told us).

When we pull up, working factory line style, all hands were set to take the boxes up to the hall that we would be using for the day.

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Books laid out in all corners of the hall, a mood of festivity was created. Each team member took on a station and we were about to begin.

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Each of the children had an experience that was noteworthy. So did we. And here’s what we felt.

Priya: Reading Adventure rocks with its reward giving activity! Flags! Flags! Flags!

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Read a book and get a flag! Students were busy choosing books to get flags and were amazed to see something different from the classroom experience. They were at THEIR fair and having fun, choosing a stall they wanted to visit and see what was special at each of our stations.

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Sheena: Escorting preschoolers up the flight of stairs; imitating the way I walked, hand actions like waving hands pit of the human train we made and sat in our story space. For the preschoolers, a story RA was a novel experience…it was great to see them responding to the questions and making animal sounds as well. The second graders laughed at the crocodile hand puppet and asked about the whereabouts of the really large crocodile. They came, they painted, they drew they wrote and all surrounded by books!

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IMG_1401Nagappa: It was a good time in the school as there was a lot of excitement and fun. It was a good experience. The room was set up with lots of exciting activities that were open for all the students to participate in! The kids really enjoyed the voting activity and having the voting mark put on their nails like adults would have.

It was really an amazing day!

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Chetna: The children were very eager and enthusiastic. Wonderful to see them come to the “shop” to buy books. The sight of happy faces all around was really satisfying.

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Elaine: With everyone working quickly, the hall was soon transformed with satin drapes and bonderam and took on a festive look. Each station was then clearly demarcated and well set up.

The kindergarteners who came in first were happily engaged as they went ‘Walking Through the Jungle.’ By the time the second graders came in, they were sent to the various stations in a more organized way and everyone got an opportunity to do everything.

IMG_1448The turnout at the voting booth was very good and a real novelty for the kids! With a flag in their hand and a skip in their step the kids left the fair after an engaging session.

Krystal:With an overview of what was happening (I only say this because my station was set up on the stage which provided a vantage point), it was a remarkable day. The kids were so charged and enthusiastic about the events of the day. Starting with each group that came up to the hall, to the moment after the read aloud when they could decide upon what activity they wanted to partake in first.

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Reading adventure gave flags! Collaborative Art included paint and brushes! There was a corner to buy books from! And there was a voting booth on the stage where one could cast a secret ballot for their favourite book and then get a voting mark! WHERE TO GO?! WHAT TO DO?!

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And then they did it all!

With great confidence and comfort with the team and in that space, the kids made their own way around the hall and they kept books at the centre of it throughout.

Ahhhhh the joys….it was a good day at MdP

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