Reading Program to Kids in Nassau County

Pictured here, are our founder Marsha Guerrier reading to the 4^th and 5^th grade kids of the Forest Road Elementary School in Valley Stream, who have benefitted from the Just As I Am Reading Program offered by the project. The two classes combined included approximately 50 students both with and without special needs and 4 teachers. The project team met with the class to read the storybook, What It Means to Be Kind by Rana DiOrio.  The book follows a girl in a red hat as she has the courage to be kind to a new student and also displays the acts of kindness from other community members. The book goes over various scenarios such how a kid with a disability feels about how people are treating him.

In the book the author ask the readers some questions on how it feels to be treated with kindness vs. treated badly when faced in certain situations. This allowed the project team to have an open discussion with the kids on their feelings when faced with bullying and kindness. The kids were honest and open about their feelings and many shared stories of times they acted in kindness. One kid even shared a story about witnessing someone being bullied in school and he intervened. Another kid shared a story of watching another school kid playing alone and decided to invite him to play with him and his friends.

At the end we asked the kids with they learned from this book and how they can help spread kindness further, this is what they had to say: “I learned a lot from the story, I will stick up for other kids being bullied in the playground.” “I learned I shouldn’t feel bad about myself when I’m not good at somethings like math.”

Inclusion classrooms involves providing children with disabilities access to a wide range of learning opportunities, activities, settings, materials, and environments.  Early childhood inclusion embodies the values, policies, and practices that support the right of every infant and young child and his or her family, regardless of ability to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families, communities, and society. The desired results of the reading program is for children with and without disabilities to have a sense of belonging, positive social relationships and friendships that will allow them to excel to reach their full potential.

Thank you for supporting our project, it is because of donors like you we are able to have such impactful projects in our community. We ask that you continue your support by sharing our project with your network and consider to continue funding our project. With your recent donation we have been able to secure Storytime for an additional 8 schools, which will reach over 300 children. Our project will bring us to the Howell Road Elementary School this spring, we are currently working with additional schools to bring the program to their children early spring.

Again, thank you and I look forward to sharing more stories from our project team in the future.

Warm Regards,

Marsha Guerrier

Links:

• Yva Jourdan Foundation