The Bookworm Libraries in School (LiS) program started in the Our Lady of Merces school two years back. Supported by the Cipla Foundation, the program nurtured readers in Classes 3 and 4 in its first year. We decided to stick with the same classes as they got promoted, as we wanted the children to grow in their reading and thinking.
This year, however, we decided to go back to the current Class 3, and now we have brand new classes of children in our library program. A new year, with new children. It was back to basics for us, as we had to start from scratch.
We started with our dramatic Book Doctor session. The children were amazed to see our Resource people dressed up as doctors and demonstrating book care with tools from a special first aid box – the plastic cover to protect the book, the tape to mend tears, the glue to stick pages. And most important of all, to read a book to keep it alive.
The children have quickly learnt the parts of a book, who is an author, who is an illustrator, etc. Our book talks are slowly but surely progressing. Our Resource Persons (RPs) are doing model book talks and the children are encouraged to ask questions after each book talk. Now the children are sure that one must never reveal the ending of a book, to keep it a surprise.
The expression of the children when they see our enlarged storybooks for the first time can never be captured in words. We have had an engaging response from the children towards our stories and very participative post-story discussions. The children of Class 4 very much liked ‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds, and some of the children noticed how a kind teacher can make a difference in a child’s life. The Class 3 children were treated to Ruth Brown’s hilarious ‘The Big Sneeze’.
Our team has our task cut out for us, and it is our joy to take the children on an incredible reading journey.
If you want to know more about anything is written in the piece above, please write to me at shraddha.belgaonkar@bw-mail.in
