During this time of COVID-19, our volunteer readers continue to give back to the community by connecting with children virtually.
Patricia Munoz “Aunty Pat”, Volunteer: Reading to children via Zoom has been both a little awkward and remarkable. Kristen Eastevedt (Teacher of the Year in her District!) does an impressive job of scheduling and corralling her students for Zoom story time with me. I join ongoing classes twice on the day I visit and Kristen helps facilitate the greetings, names and Q&As afterwards.
Zoom allows the children to get up close to and be curious about the books I'm reading because I am able to fill their home screen with the book pages while I read and am visible on the side bar. I do this by uploading the book I read onto my computer and screen sharing the book pages. If the kids want the pictures/pages bigger or smaller I can accommodate this. To accomplish this I use the feature that you showed me to scan and upload the books onto my desktop! Thank you Catherine
While I miss the person-to-kid interaction and connections that happen in the classroom, I find the level of engagement (by the kids) with the screen encouraging, especially if the child is shy to begin with. So I try to share big colorful books and use make believe ("hey, can you reach in and touch the dragon on the screen?") when I read.
Another down side of Zoom reading is that I only see or engage with a small group of students (3-10) and they are easily distracted by the activity around them @home. But this too has had some plus sides when parents or older siblings get involved.
MESSAGE: From Hauula Elementary- Ms. Kristen Eastvedt -PreK Teacher
This experience has been such a joy for my student's and me! Story time with Aunty Pat is always an anticipated event. The students are very engaged and love her stories and "friends" that she brings along during story time. I teach at a Title 1 school, and the student's have benefitted from the books that are donated. It is such a special time when they receive their very own books from Aunty Pat to keep and share with their families.
During COVID 19 school closures, Aunty Pat has joined our Webex meetings to continue story time. The students are highly engaged as usual! She selects the perfect books that students are interested in. They spark their imagination and students are able to make connections and inferences.
Mahalo nui loa for this amazing program that helps bring books alive to students, even during this pandemic.
NEW YORK
Eileen Ludwig, Volunteer: Although I love being in the classroom and especially miss the kids and their hugs, the Zoom readings have been a positive experience.
I'm really impressed with the students and how they listen and stay engaged during the virtual read-alouds. One benefit to the virtual readings is that I can read to the classes simultaneously, allowing more time for discussions and questions about the stories. A favorite thing of mine about the virtual readings is that I can also share the reading with my daughter, Sarah. This could not have happened in the traditional setting. Sarah also added, "It was so much fun being able to see and connect with the kids!"
Through Zoom, the students were also able meet our 7 month old puppy, Holly. The kids and teachers were very excited to meet her! We both are looking forward to reading to the students again soon!
MESSAGE: From Tapestry Charter School - Ms. Jessica Lemke K Teacher
When my team and I found out our school would reopen, we were filled with excitement! However, during these unprecedented times, we knew there would be many changes. Our school decided not to allow any guests in the building for safety reasons, so we were nervous about our connection with volunteer readers from Ohana 100.
The Kindergarten team was thrilled to set up a Zoom session this month with Eileen Ludwig and her daughter Sarah, so that the opportunity for guest readers could continue across all four classrooms. The students love hearing someone else read to them other than their teachers! Eileen and Sarah read several books to the students and also engaged them in questions and comments about each book to build comprehension skills.
We are so grateful for our friendship with Ohana 100. There is no greater joy than seeing their smiling faces when they are being read to and when they receive new books! Thank you Ohana 100 and we cannot wait until our next Zoom! - Jessica Lemke and the Kindergarten Team