Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Session 5: Respect, 15 Apr 2011

Time really flies! It's reading week already! We had our final session before taking a break for exams.

Waiting for the program to start :)

As usual, everyone wanted to raise the flag ("pickmepickmepickme!!!")

"Oh no, who should we pick?"

"Hehe it's my turn today!"

YRS anthem, F is standing beside Daniel in hopes of becoming a teacher one day too :P

We swopped the order of the program today based on some volunteers' feedback that it was hard to get the kids to settle down and read after the skit/activities. So, the kids got more time for reading today :D

S loves teacher Wanyan!

"I'm smiling 'cos I don't know the answer hehe"

"Hmm let me think about what I'm reading"

"But I'm really not sure"

"Never mind, teacher will help me!"

"We can all learn together!"

After everyone had packed up, we started our skit for the day!

Once upon a time, there were three rude dwarves who always laughed at an old man. One day, a mighty wizard decided to punish them, so that whenever they insulted the old man, the things that they mocked him for would happen to them instead.

"So children, you must respect others okay?"

"Okay, so what's the answer for this?"

J: "Mmm, let me think about it..."
Teacher Jiaqi: "Psst it's the other one!"

The kids also had to complete a group activity by spotting spelling mistakes in a letter written by the dwarves :D

Not forgetting it was D's birthday too! We were so touched when we heard that he wanted to come here instead of celebrating with his family *awwww* Here he is, distributing tidbits to the other kids (:

"I wonder if I can steal the whole bag since he's not looking?"

That's all for today! We would like to thank all volunteers for coming down week after week and being so patient with all the kids :) All the best for your exams, see you in 3 weeks' time on 13th May!

~YRS Comm :D~ 12:38 AM

Welcome!

About YRS

Yishun Reading Stars (Social-skills Training And Reading for Students) (YRS) is a program which aims to enhance every child's social and reading skills. The children are aged between 8-11 years old and are referred by the Educational Psychologists from the Student Centre. Some of them have limited exposure to English in their home environment, while others may have learning difficulties. YRS hopes to equip the children with some basic strategies to help them deal with their emotional needs. More importantly, we want the children to realise that they are SPECIAL in their own ways!

*Do note that we have blurred the children's faces to protect their privacy. However, we still hope that our entries will give you a good idea of what we do!

Activities

YRS usually carries out 12 sessions every academic semester. Each session is tailored to themes with a primary focus on promoting social interaction.

We devote half of every 90 minute session to Guided Reading, where volunteers attach themselves to a child and read a story to, or if possible, along with the kid. The focus is on helping the kid to improve his/her oral and reading comprehension of the story, so that the ultimate goal of independent learning through a love for reading may be achieved!

Besides the regular sessions, we organise camps and outings for the children too! :)

Quotable Quotes

"As we lead the children through the Guided Reading session, it really touches the heart to see them improving bit by bit, especially when they remember words that were taught the previous session" - Laura Lye

"Yishuners are really a team that cares about helping these kids and no matter how much time we put into volunteering for Yishun Student Care Service, it’s all worth it." - Tay Ming Hui

Volunteering

Our current season will be running from 25 February 2011 to June, with a 3-week break in between from 19 April to 6 May due to exams.

The satisfaction from being able to mould and shape a kid's future is priceless, and only when you personally experience it can you then understand it, so come on down to YRS to shape a child's future today!