1 Year of Reading Odyssey!

Hello Irregulars! Ever since university started, I have worked together with Allkin to help children read and build their curiosity in a safe space with a wonderful community of volunteers and social workers through the Reading Odyssey Programme. What is Reading Odyssey about? It’s a programme that is initiated and organised under Shine Children and Youth services, and aims at working with primary school children to build their confidence and their literacy skills through guided reading sessions. I have been doing this programme since February 2024, and I wanted to share my experience volunteering here!

The start of the session always felt pretty fun and sets the tone of the session, it starts out with a story book mass reading that brings children “around the world” with different folk stories ranging from stories in Cambodia to stories all the way in Zimbabwe and Lebanon. Volunteers would give a mini presentation about the country they are presenting, helping the kids learn about different cultures. We then move on to facilitating games which aid in their memory, and these sections are fun because oftentimes it does require a little bit of creativity from volunteers to make up stories on the spot or to change gameplay elements to bring something fresh yet familiar with the children. The key part of the guided reading experience isn’t only about training a child’s literary skill, it is also about fostering their curiosity and expanding their knowledge beyond the book. Questions often start with “How does [insert topic] work?”— and I found myself to be going down a research rabbit hole with the child to learn more about the topic. I always look forward to these sessions, as it reminds of the joys of child-like wonder, and is something we should approach in our everyday lives.

I think this experience has taught me not to underestimate the power of stories and the power of books, for it brings about curiosity in the children, and it helps them learn more about their environment, and makes them ask important questions like “why are things the way they are?”. In fact these children’s curiosity makes us the volunteers learn more about ourselves, and questions our worldview as we learn new things together. The programme has taught me patience, it has taught me to acknowledge children’s autonomy and taught me to be creative in approaches to engage children in learning— to break free from the regular structures of school that may be a barrier for these children, and approach learning in different ways that deviate from regular conventions of discipline and lecture. Though I have had experience with facilitating older youths, I learnt how to interact better with primary school kids to engage in their interest for learning. Each session feels dynamic, as the children react and change every time, and we volunteers learn on the ground how to navigate and engage the children in multiple different ways. After the end of every run, I can see that all the children have changed, progress and grown in their own ways, and I know that with the continued support, they would go a long way. I hope more people feel the calling to join volunteering programmes that invest in our youths and provide them the company and support as they grow and learn more about the world around them.

Here’s a photo of us the volunteers! Sending so much love to everyone, and remember to always stay curious!