The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), in collaboration with the College of Education at the United Arab Emirates University, launched the ‘Child Reads’ event on Thursday at the Abu Dhabi Children’s Library within the Cultural Foundation.
The event offers children a delightful reading experience that reflects the spirit of the Year of Community and aligns with the campaign’s objectives of promoting the Arabic language and emphasising the importance of reading in nurturing a generation that embraces it as a daily habit.
The initiative, which hosts around 70 children, accompanied by their parents, aims to instil a love of reading in young minds, encourage family engagement, and equip teachers with the tools, strategies, and resources to foster early reading skills.
It features immersive reading sessions designed to stimulate imagination, enhance language abilities, and promote meaningful family interaction, underlining the vital role of shared reading in early childhood development.
Fifteen female students from the College of Education are participating in delivering the activities, divided into two groups. Each student will lead a storytelling session and guide a related activity in small groups of five children.
Each session runs for 45 minutes, with additional time allocated for transitioning between complementary activities. The students accompanied the children during these transitions, ensuring a smooth and well-organised experience in an inspiring environment that encourages reading and interaction.
The event features interactive oral storytelling sessions followed by enrichment activities led by students specialising in early childhood education and special education. These activities aim to highlight the importance of reading in daily life, strengthen bonds among children, families, and educators, and nurture curiosity and a love of learning, as well as an enduring passion for books.
The event consists of seven themed stations, each presenting a different story with a unique setting tailored to the nature of its accompanying activity. Each story will be supported by visual aids and interactive materials to help reinforce the story’s educational and moral messages in the child’s memory.
Following the storytelling sessions, children have the opportunity to explore the books on their own, examine the illustrations and interpret each story from their own perspective. This activity is designed to encourage engagement with non-verbal narratives, enhancing visual storytelling skills and enabling children to create and record their own stories based on the images using iPads.
The Centre has selected a collection of stories written by accomplished female authors specialising in children’s literature. These include My Trait, Not a Monster, and Where Did the Black Chicken Go? by Amal Nasser; Dad & The Box of Happiness by Reem Al Gurg; and Zack le maniaque (Saroj Alghanoj), Salomé la pressée (Sula Al Ajula), and Cassandre la gourmande (Fola Al Akola) by Odile Bailloeul. The latter two titles were published by the Kalima Translation Project under the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre.
In addition, the event features an intensive workshop for parents and participating educators, focusing on key guidelines for reading to young children and fostering a love of books. Led by experts from the College of Education, the session offers practical advice and strategies to attract children to reading and establish it as a regular and cherished habit.
