kidsREAD at Jurong Student Service Centre (JSSC) Takes a Break!

We are giving our children (and our volunteers!) a well-deserved break until 1 July 2006 when the program will resume at JSSC. In the meantime, we are still looking out for volunteers as our sister club at Punggol requires many volunteers (aged 15 and above, fluent in spoken English, available on Saturday mornings) given the long waiting list for children who wish to enrol in the program. Our centre at Jurong SSC also needs volunteers so that we can give achieve a better volunteer-child ratio to enhance the kidsREAD experience.

Leave a comment here and I will get back to you!

2nd Anniversary Celebrations for kidsREAD organised on 23 April 2006

I was tasked with bringing the magnificent seven children from JSSC-kidsREAD all the way from the west to the spanking new National Library at Bras Basah for the 2nd Anniversary Celebrations for kidsREAD organised on 23 April 2006 for kidsREAD children and volunteers from all over Singapore.

The feedback from the children was that it was boring except for the bits where a magician came on to entertain them as well as the balloon sculpture given out by the nice lady. However, many little hearts were a bit sad that despite them raising their hands umpteen times, they did not manage to be picked for the free balloon sculpture.

Ms. Lim Hwee Hua came to speak about the kidsREAD programme but other than the NLB and other invited guests sitting in front, not many of the children were interested in her speech. At least none of my seven charges were keen and I do not blame them. Trying to get my children interested in a nicely illustrated storybook is already a challenge what more a full-blown ministerial speech that even adults may find it tough to listen with unbridled enthusiasm.

The goodie bag distributed at the event was good though. They gave out finger puppets of sea creatures (crab, fish, seahorse), lexan type small water bottles, a story book, notepad and pencil and a kidsREAD handy bag to keep all the goodies together. :-)

It appears that this event has also generated more inquiries and parents' interest in signing up their children for kidsREAD at our centre. That is certainly good news but we also need more volunteers to help with the programme. As it is, I feel that my 1 volunteer split among my class of 5-7 children does not give them the sufficient attention.

kidsREAD Snapshots on 1 April 2006

My class was as active and boisterous as ever with the super-seven (minus 1) stupendously serving out their slice of sustainable shouts during our session!

These snapshots capture the essence of their energetic endeavours coupled with my consistently crafted comments...hehehe :-)

If you think you have what it takes the do story reading and group based english activities, leave a comment with your contact email and we will get back to you.

Volunteer Now: KidsRead! at CDAC Jurong Student Service Centre

If you are interested in participating in the Chinese Assistance Development Council (CDAC) KidsRead programme that is held:

Date: Every Saturday
Time: 10.30 am to 11.30 am (Class I) 11.30 am to 12.30 pm (Class II)
Venue: CDAC Jurong Student Service Centre (SSC)
Blk 421 Jurong West St 42 #01-1045 Singapore 640421

Pre-requisites:
Age: 15 and above
Commitment: 1 hour per week for 6 months
Main tasks: Reading to children aged 4-8, inculcating good reading habits and helping children discover the joy of reading

Please contact Huimin for more details if you are interested in joining this program.

How to Volunteer for KidsREAD?

kidsREAD is a nationwide reading programme officially launched on 23 April 2004 by then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. kidsREAD is a collaborative effort by the National Library Board (NLB) together with the People's Association (PA) and five self-help groups to promote the love of reading and cultivate good reading habits among all young Singaporeans, in particular children from low-income families. The target audience of kidsREAD is children between the ages of 4 and 8, regardless of race or religion.

The objectives of kidsREAD are

• To leverage on the strengths of various partners to create a reading programme for all children between the ages of 4 and 8 in Singapore.
• To promote the love of reading and cultivate good reading habits among all young Singaporeans, in particular, children from low-income families.
• To provide an avenue for children from various races to interact from an early age.
• To help enhance the quality of life of the children and their families.

kidsREAD Participants

kidsREAD is open to children between the ages of 4 and 8 regardless of race, language or religion. Priority is given to children from less well-to-do families i.e. children from families with gross monthly household income not exceeding $2,000 or per capita income not exceeding $500

kidsREAD Volunteers
Volunteers are vital to sustaining the reading programme. Anyone can be a volunteer as long as they are 15 years and above. The time commitment is at least one hour per week for a period of 6 months. The main task of a volunteer is to read aloud stories to children so as to inculcate good reading habits from young and help them discover the joy of reading. Training will be provided for volunteers on basic storytelling skills, and use of the kidsREAD Starter Kit.

kidsREAD Programme

A kidsREAD Starter Kit comprising a recommended reading list, a poetry and rhymes list, and an activities list serves as a resource guide for volunteers to use in running the Reading Clubs. Volunteers are trained on how to use the kit and other skills to work with children. Participating children can expect reading to be made more enjoyable through a fun-filled interactive setting. Word puzzles, board games and craft making are some of the elements incorporated to make reading an exciting journey.

kidsREAD Reading Clubs

Each Reading Club can take up to a maximum of 25 children with 5 volunteers managing the session. The programme is conducted for a year and each session is conducted once a week for 1 hour. For the first half hour, volunteers read aloud stories from books to the participants. For the next half hour, the children is further divided into smaller groups of about 5 according to their reading skills or age range. A volunteer attached to each group would then engage the children in an interesting variety of reading and related activities such as craft, board games, poetry and songs.

For further queries, please contact:

kidsREAD Secretariat

278 Marine Parade Road #B1-01

Marine Parade Community Building

Singapore 449282

Telephone: 63424205

Fax: 63424411

Email: kidsread@nlb.gov.sg

For those interested to volunteer with Chinese Development Assistance Council's kidsREAD clubs, please contact:

Email: rod.loh (at) gmail.com