I finally overcame my lack of confidence, and read to kids in the park this week. I had had lots of excuses: hardly any kids, too many tourists, rain, sun... After a peptalk from Richard, I went.
The first kid I saw was my favourite little girl from three years ago. Now she is six; then she was three. She didn't remember me, but her mum did. I read to Maria for about an hour, and she was fully engrossed the whole time. We would start each book by talking about each picture. Often Maria only knew the K'akchikel name for animals and common objects, so this was also a Spanish lesson as well as a reading experience.
I showed Maria's mum photos I had taken of Maria when she was thŕee. She thought they were photos of younger daughter, who is now three, and looks just like Maria. She was astonished when she realized that it really was Maria. I realize that photos are not part of their lives.
The next day I had about eight kids. A few read on their own, or to a younger sibling. I'm back in action!
No comments:
Post a Comment