Give Maya First Graders The Tools to Succeed

The first months of school have been very productive. 

The children are tracking their daily reading. Each child reads a book of their own choosing, and records the time he/she spent and the amount of pages (or lines) he/she has read. The teachers track the daily statistics to be able to show the progress over time. The assumption is that with regular reading both comprehension and the enjoyment of reading increase! Cajola still has a more than 50% illiteracy rate, so the enjoyment of reaching is not common. At the end of the first three months, the students with the steadiest commitment to their reading were awarded small prizes.

Another goal of the Learning Center is to get the parents more involved in their children's education. Since many of the parents never attended school, they don't really know what to expect. Regular parent meetings give the parents an opportunity to see what goes on. A recent parents meeting celebrated the Day of the Family. Parents and students alike had opportunities to play games, participate in cultural dances, and enjoy themselves together. 

The children recently participated in an excursion to a Cultural Center in nearby San Juan Ostuncalco. Here they had an opportunity to listen to stories, select something to read from their ample collection and try their hands at some artistic activities. This type of excursion exposes the children to places outside of their own community.

Thank you for your support, you can see the impact you are making on our students.

Gracias, Caryn