Let's Read

This is exam week for most schools. Nope, this post is not about stress. I'm not feeling stressful and neither are my kids, thank goodness. I just miss doing duty as a parent volunteer at the kids' school. It's such a pity to stop the reading sessions around the exam period. The boys are improving through regular reading. It's a joy to work with other mothers in this programme as well. Some of them have been volunteering for many years. They go beyond the reading sessions by being interested in the kids' life. One of them loans her own child's comics when she found out that the boy she was coaching likes to draw. That boy "repaid" her kindness by drawing a fantastic picture for her. Another mum is good with her hands and she makes little knick-knacks for all the boys as an encouragement. As for the boy I'm coaching, it's very satisfying to see him trying hard to sound out new words. Of course there are challenging cases (not mine though). Some really couldn't read and will resort to anything to get out of it, like talking incessantly. The mothers will then discuss these cases and brainstorm on ideas to deal with them. We think some of them may have learning difficulties like dyslexia.

Speaking of which, there are quite a number of kids with special needs at my boys' school. There is a boy in Ewan's class who seems to be autistic. Ewan finds him annoying because he can't sit still and runs about in class and he can't communicate with the boys. The boy's father sometimes stay with him the entire day in class. Other times, the special ed teacher will be with him. Once when I was doing library duty, he ran amok in the library. I caught hold of him and sat him down with a book and read to him. You should see how his face lighted up. He answered my questions (eg can you point out the dog?), though he didn't make any eye contact with me. It made my day to have "connected" with him through reading. Ewan and his other classmates who crowded round us that day were amazed that their "special" classmate could sit still for once.

Reading and stories are very close to my heart. I have nurtured my own boys to love reading. Now it's time to share this gift with other children. And I'm so glad to be able to do so through volunteering in the kids' school.