Written by Dr Neeza Singh, LEC 2018
Right from the time of entry into the beautiful serene building of St Joseph Renewal Centre on the top of the hill on the first day of the Contact 2 till the time I bid adieu to all in the class on the last day, every moment was a learning one!
The vibrant class with book display on various themes, stationary corner, poetry window, mural wall, clay corner, colourful bags of books hanging, all was just so perfect. To top it all, the warm welcome!
I got a different lens for understanding books for children; and to conduct activities with them. Earlier I was just randomly selecting books for my library. Now I know meaningful books on various themes to be made a part of Library collection for children. Nonfiction is also such an important part of children reading, and how can we arouse interest for them among children. Moral development was a strong issue discussed, and books can play an important role. I now have a different angle at looking at poetry, going deep into the various meanings which can be derived. I even wrote a very short poem of mine first time ever in my life and put it up there at the window! Raj’s session on Story reading taught us the different elements that we could include our readings. I simply loved this session and in the coming days I’m actually going to apply them. Library assessment was another great learning for me. Thanks to wonderful faculty including Jane, Usha, Theju, staff of Bookworm, LEC participants and the driving force Sujata.
The task of presenting five papers from the Compendium in different ways, presenting books through drama, book talks, book discussions, discussion of videos, pairing books, energizers, etc. was a great learning. I enjoyed the Asthachal, our own time to explore ourselves and the Quiet reading time. I think I read 20+ plus books apart from the books included in sessions. I have now developed a different love for them and I read 2-3 children books everyday now after coming back.
How can I forget the lullaby session! Reading is listening….how well was this explained. Each one enjoyed it. I realized I never knew a single lullaby in Punjabi, my regional language. Now back home, I discovered and learnt one.
The visit to Bookworm Goa Library was a great learning experience. I am working in a library with much more space and resources. But the kind of work Bookworm Goa is doing stands out. The space is so warm with theme based open access welcoming display of books. The energy level of staff was amazing. The colourful vibrant library they have set up is awesome. As I walked through the Library, a glimpse of anything and everything gave me an instant new idea which I could apply in my library. They had arranged four wonderful sessions there including interesting Treasure hunt; power packed Story on demand, lovely performance by Bookworm Mobile Library member children, and the informative presentation on LIS (Libraries in Schools) Programme. What commendable work they are doing! The number of pre and post story sessions they are conducting is remarkable. Another three micro sessions were conducted by Bookworm staff at the Centre the next day. These were sessions on Book mending, Colour coding and RAT software. Such well planned and organized sessions!
Though I couldn’t attend the first contact, which I wish I could attend, but Sujata helped me through it over phone and special presentations were prepared and mailed over. My mentor Beena Choksi was a great help too. Here in the second contact the faculty, staff and each and every LEC participant was so warm and helpful answering my queries over and over again. Sujata, the driving force behind this programme herself is so high on energy. Simplicity, elegance, humility……all in one! There is so much to learn from her. She has a signature style of her own and I love it!