On the 30st of March 2021, CSC Danilo Dolci organized an online seminar to promote reading aloud in a professional contest, as part of the project 3MR – Making the most of the magic of reading. This project aims to increase the early literacy skills of children, especially those from culturally less advantaged backgrounds, by preparing professionals involved in early childhood education and parents to engage in reading aloud to children and in book-sharing practices.
The event targeted Early childhood education professionals, kindergarten teachers and other professionals and volunteers who work with small children. Of course, the event was also open to anyone else who was interested in the topic and wanted to know more about the importance of reading aloud, and which positive effects it has on a child’s development and successes in life. Eventually, the audience was composed of old-participants and new faces, as well as a vast representation of public kindergartens from the Palermo area.
The event was a great opportunity to present the project, the experiences of the two trainings that have been organized in Palermo in the last year with 33 teachers and volunteers, but also a moment to listen to experts in the field. Present were Antonella Provenzano, reference point of the national program of reading aloud called “Nati per Leggere” and Gabriele Mercadante, operator of booq, a library in the centre of Palermo. Consequently, the event was divided in three main parts:
- Presentation of the project and the two finished outputs: a curriculum and the guidelines for implementation of the 3MR methodology. These guidelines have been tested in all partner countries and resulted in a rich compilation of activities that can improve the competences of teachers and professionals in their reading aloud activities, and in reading to one child even in a group of children. The outputs are available for download on the 3MR website: https://readingmagic.eu/results/
- A session led by Antonella Provenzano focusing on the development of the children’s brain in the first years of life, and how reading aloud stimulates the brain processes.
- A session led by Gabriele Mercadante on reading aloud in schools and how you can focus on individual children even in a class or group setting.
The event was concluded with some final words on quality picture books and the questions of the participants. Despite the online form and thus the impossibility of actually going through and touch the books, all participants were actively engaged and make the event to a successful moment of sharing knowledge and experiences.
The project is expected to end by the end of august, and in the meantime two more toolkits will be developed: one for teachers, focusing on the most innovative and new parts of the 3MR methodology, and one for parents and families who want to start reading at home. Both will be available in online and printable version, to be downloaded from the 3MR website.
3MR – Making the Most of the Magic of the Reading is a project funded by the Erasmus+ programme, Key Action 2: Strategic partnerships | School.
The partnership is composed by 4 institutions, 1 university and 3 associations:
- Coordinatore: ULiege, Belgium
- Asociatia LSGC, Romania
- Estonian Reading Association (EstRA), Estonia
- Centro per lo Sviluppo Danilo Dolci, Italy
For more information, please write to vidjaya.thelen@danilodolci.org, have a look at the website: www.readingmagic.eu or on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/3mrproject.