“Povesti sub lupa”:
Reading and Science Corners powered by Raiffeisen
The need: As part of our effort to facilitate the implementation of Law #248/2015, the OvR team visited 500 rural kindergartens in 38 counties. We were struck that, even though most of the school buildings had been renovated or replaced, the classrooms were mostly devoid of age-appropriate learning materials and the teachers rarely took advantage of the many simple activities about the physical world around them that could be utilized through picture books and science experiments.
The solution: “Povesti sub Lupa” is building infrastructure for literacy & science in poor rural communities by equipping 50 kindergarten classrooms with Reading & Science Corners, while creating a network of 50 master teachers working with poor children. Besides a rich experience in kindergarten, the project also provides 1000 children in 26 counties their own picture books (three titles for each child) to take home, and engages their parents in kindergarten activities.
The project was launched in March, 2018, when 10 pilot-kindergartens were equipped with Reading & Science Corners. Forty more kindergarten classes received Povesti sub Lupa kit at the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year.
Each reading and science corner consists of a child friendly bookcase, 20 picture books, a comfortable rug for the reading sessions, and many educational resources that aim to develop children’s creativity, fine motility, curiosity or logical thinking.
Selection criteria:
– lack of resources in the kindergarten; disadvantaged community, teachers working with poor children
– teachers have already participated in OvidiuRo’s early literacy trainings and they are willing to change their teaching methods, toward child-centered and literacy development methods.
OvidiuRo provided an on-line application form for those teachers who wanted to apply for the project, and also invited teachers in disadvanted communities (following the County School Inspectorates recommendations) to participate in one of the 5 dedicated trainings held during the project.
