Yishun Reading Odyssey

YISHUN READING ODYSSEY

Yishun Reading Odyssey is a Regular Volunteering Programme conducted in partnership with SHINE Children and Youth Services (Yishun), under a programme known as Reading Odyssey. NUS volunteers help to plan and execute reading activities for this programme at the Yishun Centre.

During the sessions, volunteers guide groups of P1 to P6 children through various reading activities and cognitive-skills games. These children often present with weak literacy skills and a low interest in reading.

We have about 10 sessions per semester. In addition, there is also a fun-filled camp organised for the children and volunteers every academic year!

If you are keen to refer your child for this programme, please visit SHINE Children and Youth Services "Educational Psychology Service" page for more details.

WHAT WE DO

The Reading Odyssey programme aims to support children with low reading abilities. The programme encourages…

A guided reading approach

The development of information processing skills in children

The increase of well-being and social mobility in children, and their meaningful inclusion in society

A typical session is split into two halves: Group Story-telling and Cognitive-skills Games and Guided Reading.

group story-telling & cognitive-skills games

The first half of the session is spent on Group Story-telling and Cognitive-skills Games. Volunteers gather in groups to conduct story-telling sessions for the children. The books would revolve around the country of the week. Under the guidance of the staff in-charge, volunteers then facilitate games that help to develop children's cognitive skills that are closely related to reading skills, such as visual and auditory memory.

GUIDED READING

The second half of the session is 1-1 Guided Reading, where each volunteer is attached to a child to guide the child in reading a book. The focus is on helping to increase the child's ability to read in terms of both fluency and comprehension. Through this, we hope they cultivate a genuine interest in reading!

There's much more to YRO!

Besides the regular sessions, we also organise consolidation parties to end off the semesters! During the party, there will still be regular activities such as 1-1 guided reading, group story-telling and cognitive-skills games. However there will be a special segment at the end where we present certificates of achievements to the children to acknowledge and reward them for their hard work and effort over the course of our 8 sessions.

In addition, we also organised outings to places such as to the Botanic Gardens, Changi Airport and Singapore Sports Hub. This is to let children have fun and learn interesting things that they do not get to learn in school, get exposure to different places around Singapore and at the same time, enabling volunteer-child bonding.

These camps and outings that we planned are mainly aimed at fostering greater friendship amongst the children and inculcating values of teamwork and perseverance in them while at the same time exposing them to themes like Caring for the Environment and Creativity as each camp/outing has its own theme.

COME JOIN US

WHERE

SHINE Children & Youth Services (Yishun)

Blk. 202, Yishun Street 22, #01-89, S760202

(Near Yishun MRT Station, opposite Northpoint City Shopping Mall)

WHEN

Every Friday, 7PM - 9.30PM

HEAR FROM OUR VOLUNTEERS

The sessions which feel the most positive are those in which the girls are cheerful and open. Them being energetic and optimistic allows for better interaction and engagement with the volunteers. Such positivity makes each volunteering session, at the end of the school day, much more enjoyable and immersive.

- Xin Yi, Vice-Chairperson

Joining a committee and becoming a leader was a challenging yet fulfiling experience for me. I am glad that I met many like-minded volunteers who are passionate to serve the community. As a volunteer myself, I am also glad to be able to witness first-hand the growth of all the children in the programme. It is heartwarming to see them truly enjoy themselves in the programme, and returning every week eager to learn more from the volunteers!

- Felicia, Secretary & Programmes

After volunteering in YRO for this semester, my perspective was greatly broadened especially in my views towards children. This was my first semester with YRO and also my first year in NUS and I am glad that I made the decision to be part of the YRO team. Given the opportunity to be part of the subcommittee for the YRO annual camp, I made the most memorable memories in YRO in the process of organising the camp. This is so as in addition to given a chance to plan and lead together with my team, I was also able to bond and understand my fellow YRO members better.

- Qi Feng, Volunteer

Spending time with the kids and volunteers is always a delight! I am grateful to be part of the kids’ journey as they learnt to enjoy reading. The weekly sessions with the kids have also taught me how to understand and interact with them as they all have very unique and cute personalities! Much appreciation for the other volunteers as well for guiding me and making every Friday fun and rewarding.

- Evelyn, Volunteer

MEET THE COMMITTEE

FIND US

For prospective undergraduate volunteers from NUS, please contact nuscsc.yro@gmail.com for any queries

Follow us on social media for more

For parents/guardians who would like to refer their child to the programme, please visit SHINE’s website.