Children and tutors in Mahmood Abad welcome New Year with lots of new experiences

The Iranian year of 1394 is reaching to its end while in Supportive Education Center of Mahmood Abad (Mahmood Abad Cultural Center) in Shahr-e-Rey, tutors and children have gained rich experiences during the previous year by doing different activities related to books and Book Reading. The library in this center which covers different age-groups in preschool, elementary school, mid-school and high school, is not just an ordinary library. It is a library of quality books which has expanded its activities since last summer by the cooperation of Read with Me project and holds Book Reading sessions more regularly.

In these Book Reading Sessions, tutors who have previously been trained in RWM workshops on Reading Aloud Techniques, read aloud quality books with children. After reading the books, activities related to them are done by children. The tutors think of different activities to develop and extend the content of the book so that the children are more involved with books.

A tutor reading books for children

Examples of activities related to Book Reading in Mahmood Abad Cultural Center

Follow-up activities for the book “Elmer the patchwork elephant”: This book is the story of a colorful elephant called Elmer who is different from other elephants. In this activity the children have stuck pieces of color papers and completed a different elephant and they have added their own pictures on the elephant in order to understand the differences between each other and respect these differences.

Painting and painting in groups are some of effective Book Reading follow-up activities which make connections between books and children

Follow-up activity for the book “Funny Face”: This book helps the children to understand the face gestures: Happy face, sad face, surprised face, angry face and etc. So children will know and express their feelings more easily and they can communicate with others. In this craft, tutors in Mahmood Abad Cultural Center have tried to make different faces and feelings with children to help them understand and show their feelings.

Follow-up activity for the book “Aïe, mes dents!”: This activity helps children to realize the subject of the book which is about oral and dental hygiene.

In preschool of this center Read with Me plan was implemented in two parts: Basic Literacy improvement through Literature and Reading Aloud Sessions along with Dramatic and Art activities. In Basic Literacy improvement part, Learning Sounds, Learning Alphabet and Learning Math packages have been taught to children.

Reading Aloud of a short story from “Learning Sounds” book by one of tutors

Teaching phonemes through games – Children shape their bodies as different phonemes and alphabet under their tutor’s guidance

Teaching phonemes through games

The children have changed their faces like the character of the “Learning Sounds” book (SiBiLak)

Activities related to “Learning Sounds” book

Masks of the “Learning Sounds” book characters which have been made by children with the help of their tutors. These masks help children to learn animals’ sounds, phonemes and sounds related to them

In February 2016 an exhibition of these activities was held by this center and paintings, crafts and other kids handmade activities done by children and their teachers related to reading and Reading Aloud sessions were presented in this exhibition which was well received between children and their families.

In this year, in Supportive Education Center of Mahmood Abad series of “Reading with Babies and Toddlers workshops” were held for another group of young mothers. In these workshops in Mahmood Abad Cultural Center mothers learned Reading Aloud basics and received “Reading with Babies and Toddlers” Book Bags to read aloud with their babies. So during the workshops mothers were guided toward the correct path of reading with their babies to let their children benefit quality books from first years of their lives under the supervision of the institute’s experts. In these sessions practical and theoretical education related to books are given to mothers. In addition of Book Reading they learn the right way of singing lullabies and songs and telling stories with dolls and they also learn to make books for their babies by themselves. After running this workshops for two groups of mothers, now the teachers and mothers are surprised of its amazing impacts on children and they report the effects of reading on mental and social growth of babies. Sympathetic mothers of Mahmood Abad who are now empowered, follow these workshops enthusiastically. In a part of the exhibition in February, handmade crafts made by mothers for their children were also presented.

Books, dolls and other handmade crafts made by mothers in Mahmood Abad for their babies and toddlers in “Reading with Babies and Toddlers” plan

A mother reading with her baby – Mothers participating in these workshops practically learn Reading Aloud basics

In the final days of the Iranian year of 1394, children welcome the spring by doing activities in relation with Arboriculture Day and Nowrouz. On March 1st, the center’s authorities and tutors held the traditional festival of Nowrouz and celebrated the spring by performing plays, symbolic ceremony of Chaharshanbeh Soori, singing songs and playing different games.

Children draw in groups on the subject of Arboriculture Day