BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS
You
may help Rainbow receive credit toward the purchase of books by joining Tatnuck
Booksellers Feed Your Head Book Club and designating Rainbow as the recipient
agency for their Rewards Program credits. Tatnuck will track the total amount
of purchases made by all our supporters throughout the school year (September-May)
and reward the Center with a gift certificate for the purchase of books.
Participants may sign
up at either the Main or Discount Store. Designate Rainbow and receive a key
tag for use when you make your purchases. Participants receive a 40% discount
off Tatnuck's top 100 titles and 20% off the category of the month. A wonderful
way to personally enjoy savings on your own book purchases while helping the
Center build their program libraries. Everyone is a winner!
WHAT A DIFFERENCE VOLUNTEERS MAKE!
Every
day is Story Day for the little ones at Rainbow's After School Program, but
Tuesdays story time is special because of guest storyteller David Miller.
Every week, David arrives with a big smile and a hand-picked story book. As
the little ones settle down, David begins to weave his spell, reading stories
about Ferdinand the Bull, Frederick the Mouse, and a host of new friends for
our children. They sit in rapt attention as David brings the book's characters
to life, creating mind-pictures with his voice and the author's words. There
is always a lively discussion afterward, and some debate over which was the
best character and what was the best part.
If
Tuesday's stories come to life in our children's minds, Friday's stories take
shape in their hands. Friday is the day that Sharon Bokankowitz comes to Rainbow
with her books and her bag of surprises. Known affectionately as The Craft Lady,
Sharon engages the children with stories and creative projects designed to give
them a hands-on relationship to the story. Recently, Sharon read The Gingerbread
Man, and showed the children how to construct their own Gingerbread Man, complete
with real candy buttons on his tummy. Sweet!
David
and Sharon are among a group of volunteers who spend a few hours every week
with our school age program, reading, playing games, helping with homework,
and just being there for our kids. David, a retired Unitarian minister, came
to us by way of the United Way's Volunteer column in the Sunday Telegram,
and Sharon is a veteran teacher, but our volunteers come from many sources
and all walks of life. Currently we also enjoy the enthusiasm of three young
men from St. John's High School and we will soon welcome several new volunteers
from Assumption College. Rainbow Child Development is fortunate to have such
good friends and willing helpers expanding the horizons of the children we
serve.
FAMILY CHILD CARE AND UMASS/MEMORIAL FOSTER LITERACY
For the past year the Family Child Care program has been in collaboration with the UMass/Memorial Literacy program in promoting reading to young children. Each provider has been assigned a para professional that comes to the Family Child Care home and conducts a story hour. They bring books and finger plays that are appropriate for infants and toddlers. The provider prepares her group for the visit, so when the reader arrives the focus is on the books and finger plays. The reader and the provider get comfortable on the floor, with the children climbing onto their laps to get a better view of the books. The readers and the provider are careful about reading at the childrenspace, following their interests and spending longer on a book that the children especially enjoy. When the childrens attention begin to drift, the reader then changes to finger plays and songs. The children seemed to love the cozy atmosphere. At the end of each story hour the reader leaves a new book for each child to take home. This is a great way to promote family reading time at home. Parents have expressed their appreciation for the books that their children have received. UMass/Memorial has also donated many new books to our program.
