Reading comprehension and critical thinking skills are vital components of literacy and learning. Without them, students struggle to make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. But in rural Guatemalan classrooms, most teachers use traditional methods of reading instruction that focus on memorization and the mechanics of reading. Students learn to decode […] Continue Reading

In early July, representatives from 19 schools, libraries and community organizations from around Guatemala came to Antigua for Child Aid’s Book Distribution Day. There was a lot of excitement as attendees participated in a half-day orientation and then lined up at our warehouse to pickup boxes of brand new books to take back to their […] Continue Reading

An assortment of cars, pickup trucks and minivans snaked through the fields of the Azotea coffee farm near Antigua a few weeks ago, waiting to pick up boxes of new books. Representatives from 19 schools, libraries and community organizations traveled from around Guatemala to Child Aid’s book warehouse for our Book Distribution Day, a yearly […] Continue Reading

Established by UNESCO 1995, World Book and Copyright Day celebrates literacy and commemorates the lives of some of the world’s greatest writers. For the past couple of years, the day has also provided an opportunity for Child Aid’s partner libraries to reach out to their local communities and continue their role as ambassadors of literacy. […] Continue Reading

When Edwin Yaxón, District Supervisor of the San Antonio Palopo district, sat down to talk with members of the Child Aid board of directors in early 2013, he had many positive things to say about the Reading for Life literacy program. Before becoming a school principal and later District Supervisor, Yaxón had participated in Child Aid […] Continue Reading

The Child Aid staff does a tremendous variety of activities in their work promoting literacy in Guatemala. They run training workshops, distribute books, provide one-on-one support for teachers and librarians, work with students and even pitch in to help label and organize books from time to time. Watch this slide show to see the Child Aid staff […] Continue Reading

Members of Child Aid’s Literacy Training Team share some of they ways they make story time fun, engaging and educational. Continue Reading

[embed_video id=’orEkSz0pDwE’] In the communities of rural Guatemala, storybooks in children’s homes are extremely rare and many parents are illiterate. So when an adult sits down to read a book aloud to a group of kids, it is a time of magic and joy. Kids crowd around the reader, eager to see the pictures and […] Continue Reading

To commemorate another successful year of our school break reading program, last month the Child Aid staff put together it’s first “Adventures in Reading Newspaper.” Articles contributed by both staff and librarians highlighted activities, special events and accomplishments from the 36 school, community and municipal libraries who participated in the program this year. The newspaper […] Continue Reading

After two years of studying to become teachers, the students at the Socorro de Belen school took on their last and most challenging assignment. Last month they returned to their hometowns to set up and run Adventures in Reading, Child Aid’s school break literacy program, in their communities. At the end of the school year, […] Continue Reading