Support literacy and learning for 1,900 Maya youth

Happy 2013!

In my last update I told you all about the new school vacation programming called "Adventuras de Lectura" (Adventures in Reading) that we introduced this past year. Well, as the annual school vacation draws to an end here in Chajul, we held a wrap-up party for all of our little Adventurers. The event was just too cute and fun to pass-up on telling and especially showing you about!

This first year was a huge success; 85 kids attended nearly every day for the full 2 months and another 100 attended intermittently. Throughout the program librarians noted discernible improvements in regular participants on areas of listening skills, sharing, oral communication skills, concern for a clean environment and personal hygiene, and Spanish vocabulary.

With your support, we will be able to continue running these activities throughout the new school year, particularly, “Fun with Numbers and Math”, “Spanish Word Fun”, “Reading Buddies”, where little kids are paired with an older youth who can read, and “Theme Time”, a combination of a Story Hour, educational television programming, art activity or dynamic activity that all center on a common theme. Themes of focus include “sharing”, “being a good neighbor”, “personal hygiene”, “being a helpful community member”, and other life-skills. Offering these activities will be especially beneficial to many of our little library members who don't yet attend school, or whose parents cannot afford to send them.

We can't wait to work with you to make this New Year even more fun and educational for the kids of Chajul!