1.) Where are you with your action?
Hello everyone! To recap, my action project is volunteering at my local library as a reading buddy. As a volunteer reading buddy, I help kids in elementary school practice their reading skills and help them enjoy reading! So far there have been three sessions, and the next one is today! I have had a few different reading buddies so far, some as young as 5 years old and some as old as 10 years old! Every week we pick out books together to read, and try to find interesting books! For the more experienced readers we will alternate reading a page each, and for the beginners, we’ll pick a less challenging book so they can attempt reading it on their own! I have also been helping set up games to play at the end of the sessions, but I’ll explain more on that further down.
2.) What are some successes that you have had?
One success I have had is finding a book a kid enjoyed! On my first session, I was partnered with someone who hated reading. However, a lot of people who hate reading just haven’t found the right book to read. I know it’s not the case for everyone, but for my reading buddy, I read a Geronimo Stilton book with him and he really enjoyed it! The next week he told me he checked out another Geronimo Stilton book from his school library and that made me happy. I have also been able to get to know my reading buddies so far, and I think that’s a huge success. When working with children, I think it’s really important to make them comfortable around you and to be able to get to know them. I’ve done this by asking questions about their interests and learning about them as people. Showing genuine interest in what they have to say can make a huge difference!
3.) What are some challenges that you have faced? Have you been able to overcome them?
A challenge I have faced is having a reading buddy not show up for one of the sessions. This was a problem because the number of older reading buddies outnumbered the younger ones that day. However, I overcame this by helping out with something else! As mentioned earlier, at the end of the sessions for about 15 minutes, we all play a game. The people whose reading buddies are absent get to come up with a game to play and teach it to everyone in the room! So far, hangman is definitely the favourite, but we have also played telephone which I think is a really fun game!
4.) What are you doing next and why?
Next, I will be continuing to volunteer at the library because I really enjoy it, and it makes me happy seeing children learn to enjoy reading because I love books!
Thank you for reading!
