Ameneh Nursery

Read with Me in Ameneh Nursery

Geographical Location: ValiAsr Street, Tehran
Age Group: infant and toddlers, 3-6 years old
Number of Children:  Variable
Number of Teachers: 2
Start Date: June 2014

Welfare Services Complex and Ameneh Nursery is a subsidiary of the Shemiran Welfare Organization of Tehran Province. This nursery is a place to take care of 0-7 year-old orphans and abused children. The “Read with Me” program started its activity in July 2008 at Ameneh Nursery with the financial support of the Institute for Research on the History of Children’s Literature.

The “Read with Me” program is now focused on working with nursery children to strengthen their listening and speaking skills. The teachers of the institute read to children twice a week under the supervision of Read with Me experts.

With the efforts and consent of nursery authorities, the Reading with Babies and Toddlers program has been launched in the infant’s section of the nursery since October 2007.

Overview

In 2013, following the field trip of Ameneh Nursery children to the History of Childhood Culture ExpoMuseum in Negarestan Garden, the Institute’s experts found some of the shortcomings and basic needs of these children in their listening and speaking skills. They decided to implement the “Read with Me” program based on teaching phonetics and alphabets. After extensive consultations between the institute and nursery authorities, Read with Me finally began its activities in July 2014.

Azadeh Sadeghi, a Read with Me expert, has continuously participated in the weekly sessions at this nursery since the beginning. She has worked with children through the “Learning Phonological Awareness Skill” package and reading the quality books of this program. Through her continuous efforts, she has been able to make significant changes in the developing linguistic, social and emotional skills of these children.

Also, in October 2015, the Reading with Babies and Toddlers program was officially established in the infant’s section. Ever since then, the amazing effects of reading and talking with newborns has astonished the staff and nursing experts.

By holding Reading Aloud sessions with the creative educational package “Learning Phonological Awareness Skill” in Ameneh Nursery, the linguistic, social and emotional skills of these children has developed at a different level. Another influence of “Read with Me” on Ameneh Nursery has been children’s intimate bond with books.

Now, after three years of implementing the “Read with Me” program in Ameneh Nursery, the experts at the center are the supporters of the program with respect to the significant effects of reading books to children, especially newborns and toddlers.

Go to this link to read more about the effects of this program on orphan children and interviews with experts and psychologists in Ameneh Nursery.