Abako's shiny new language development program is already making waves! Dr. Banks, with the fabulous host Mtra. Silvia Silva, zoomed into five communities to witness the adorable teamwork between the littlest Abako students and their super moms as they dive into the wonders of Maya and Spanish. Moms have been absolute rock stars, drawing, labeling, painting, and chatting with their kiddos about everything under the sun! Teachers have set the stage for these dynamic duos, whipping up fun activities that make learning a blast.
This was just our opening act, and trust us, there’s more to come! We’re all in for the long haul, aiming to team up with local officials to snag permanent, cozy spots for learning in every community. The project is still in its early days, but our dedicated teachers and enthusiastic parents are all set to crank up the language fun for infants and toddlers, helping them juggle both languages like pros! Can’t wait for our next adventure in spring 2025!
Our little school library in Mali was amid a termite takeover! So, the brave folks at Abako rolled up their sleeves to protect those precious pages. They whipped up a unique paint concoction to send those pesky pests packing! Voilà! A library renovation was born, with snazzy book cover posters and tough-as-nails plastic boxes. They even added three shiny shelves to showcase the literary treasures and two sturdy containers to keep the termites at bay.
Now, hunting for those plastic boxes was like searching for a unicorn since they’re as rare as a rainy day in the desert in Koutiala. After a wild treasure hunt, the Abako team snagged two containers to safeguard the books, but alas, the colorful boxes remained elusive. Working in Mali may be a tough nut to crack, but the rewards are sweeter than honey! The search for the perfect finishing touches for this reading haven continues!
Abako kicked off the year with its first teacher training bash this January! Middle school principals, lead teachers, and fabulous folks from three non-Abako schools gathered to swap their best reading tricks learned at the International Book Fair last December. And guess what? Two incredible teachers from Morelos joined in, bringing along a nifty reading strategy called Phillips 66!When the dust settled, everyone walked away with three shiny new strategies to add to their toolkit. It was a fantastic day filled with learning, laughter, and much sharing! We left buzzing with energy and ready to empower young minds on their reading adventures!
Abako is piloting a new literacy project for bilingual Mayan-Spanish mothers and infants in Yucatan, Mexico. Abako believes literacy and reading begin at home; therefore, mothers play a crucial role in their children's language and literacy development. Abako Foundation partnered with five Early Childhood Development Centers in Indigenous Communities (Centros de Educación Inicial Indígena, CEIIs, in Spanish) to assist parents in creating bilingual materials to begin teaching language to their children at home. This project involves five teachers, 144 mothers, and 136 infants who will receive materials and pedagogical support from Mayan-speaking teachers and two research assistants to work with specific language items to introduce children to sounds and words.
The project aims to teach mothers how to read to their babies with materials they created and that are part of their context. The long-term goal is for children to start recognizing letters, sounds, and words before they enter preschool. Soon, there will be reading corners in each center, and mothers will begin creating their materials with the supplies provided by Abako. We are excited about this project and will provide updates during the 2024-25 school year.
Mali's literacy and library program could only be fully implemented with a library. Our pilot school site allowed Abako to partner with the community to construct a new library room. Parents and students made three thousand adobe bricks for the room, and Abako supplied the rest of the materials to make a school library a reality. The library construction started in early summer, and it took a month before it was finished enough for students to have their first sessions there before the school year ended in July.
A school library was one of the teachers' and students' dreams, and it is the first school library in the little community of Koutiala. Carefully curated books were supplied, and just recently, the teachers painted a mural, and bookshelves were installed to display books.
As the new school year begins, library traffic will soon increase as teachers and students bring stories to life and book activities start!
Nothing is better for teachers than starting a new school year with renewed motivation and pedagogical strategies for students. The Abako team in Mali conducted a three-day capacity-building workshop for teachers. The entire teaching staff attended the training session to learn about energizers, pre-reading activities for each grade, strategies for after-reading discussions, and the pre-assessment tool for lower primary grades. The training challenged teachers to work individually, in pairs, and as a group to model activities they will implement with their students during the school year. Rain storms did not hamper their commitment, although the roads to reach the school were flooded. Teachers and trainers had a productive time, enjoyed meals together, and discussed upcoming school events.
The rainy season wreaked havoc in rural communities in Mali. The downpours caused floods that closed schools for an additional month, pushing the school year to start in November instead of October. November 4 could not come soon enough, and students are finally in school ready to learn! With such good news, the Abako team and teachers went to work immediately and distributed school supplies to all students to support parents still recovering from losing crops. Community elders and parents witnessed the distribution of supplies and were grateful for such a kind gesture. Now, students are ready to begin an exciting year that will engage them in reading in their new library.
To kick off the new school year in Mexico and to support the reading program in middle schools, Abako invited teachers to a reading challenge. This challenge was called “A Blind Date with a Book.” The Abako team selected and bought books in different genres, wrapped them up, drew and wrote hints about the book on the cover, and invited teachers to pick a book that spoke to them blindly. Each title was different. The catch: to read it in a month and give a report to Abako. We are happy to report that all completed their reading successfully. For the next round, teachers were presented with a list of titles to vote on. The winner: “The Sugar Master,” and we will all read the same book this time.
Abako’s goal is to promote reading among students but to achieve this, teachers must also have a great love for books.
Abako also held a teacher training session to start the school year in Mexico. The Abako teachers took this opportunity to share their latest experiences applying new reading strategies. As always, the Abako team prepared exciting games and activities to show the teachers, and everyone learned new ways of working with students and reading poems! This time was not only used to study, and the teachers had a great time while playing and interacting with each other. They do not see each other often, so activities like this foster a sense of community and even friendship between the teachers!
