Hi!! (From Tiffany, Yellow House)

Hi All,
I must say that all you impressed me so much for this first session! The motivation and drive was written all over your faces. You guys deserve a huge pat on your back! Just a few more pointers (in case I won't be seeing you this Friday):

- Be relaxed and consistent: Kids normally react to how you carry yourself. So, if you maintain a calm and relaxed demeanour, they will catch it. Consistency is also another powerful tool. When kids are familiarised with you (because you are consistent), they warm up with you much easier.

- Give your best - Whatever the outcome these kids show, it's not your fault. If they seem to keep aloof, it's not your fault. So, keep guilt at bay. As long as you are the volunteers, that's all that matters.

- Wear comfortable attire - Now that you know the venue, and that you'd have to sit down when conducting the session, try to wear comfortable and appropriate attire. If your clothes distract you, it will affect your concentration.

- Be flexible - Many groups have shown flexibility while conducting the session which is excellent. Try to be sensitive towards the kids; how they react, respond and behave.

- Here's an idea for story-telling session. I agree that having different titles read at the same time may be quite unorganised. How about this - We divide storytelling into two groups - level 1 and 2. So we have more volunteers to participate as a larger group. Each group can choose a particular story, decide how to present it, prepare the necessary materials (you can even act it out, do a simple puppet show, have a narrator and some actors, use simple costumes, masks, accessories, sound effects, etc). The kids will watch and listen as though they are watching a live performance. Then you can even conduct some Q&A's to see if they understand the story. After that, when they go back to their group, you can suggest topics for journaling which may or may not relate to the storytelling session.

That's it for now! thanks again!
Cheers!