Being with small children is a lovely experience. We get to know their imagination, their thinking, their interests. I got another chance to be with children because of Bookworm. Ma’am called us and told us that Sakshi and I will be going to the Anganwadi which is newly constructed in Bambolim. The children there have a new Anganwadi but no books to browse. So with this program we wanted to give these children the joy of books, stories, activities, games, songs and many more things.
Going to Anganwadi is a new program in Bookworm and as every program at Bookworm has a unique name, we also wanted a name for this Anganwadi program. We spoke and thought and all came up with a name “Mankulem Bookworm”.
The first session was a demo session so that I could know the children and they get to know me. When I first met them they were rather quiet. They were also scared to see new faces in the Anganwadi. They did not know what to expect from us.
So many of the children have changed in just a fortnight of sessions at the Anganwadi.
Alfan is one child who used to not talk at all. Even if we sit with him and talk to him he used to not utter a single word. But after 8 sessions he is now talking and interacting with me, showing me different pictures from the story books. Doing activities and participating in different games. I am happy that now he is talking and participating in different things.
It is a lovely experience to be with these children. They have so many ideas in their minds, they only need someone to motivate them and give them a chance to talk. They love to listen to the stories. They also love to sing songs, play games and engage in different activities.
All the children are very excited about the books. They cannot read but they see the pictures and tell me what they can see in their books. Their parents are also happy to see that the children are going through different books and doing different activities in the Anganwadi.
Children are a joy to be with and we hope they all grow up into bookworms.