A Family of Volunteers: Spreading the Love of Reading with the Tongs
By: Public Libraries Singapore
Tags: Volunteering, Life, Books, Reading, Self Improvement

You’ve both been active volunteers at NLB for almost six years now. How did the library become your chosen place to volunteer at?

Sharon: My daughter and I first started volunteering at the care corner (a daycare centre for the elderly) near her school when she was in lower primary. She accompanied the elderly by playing games and engaging them in fun activities. During the school holidays, Sabrina also organised song and game sessions and helped out during their tea break. In Primary 4, she was accepted into the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) at Nanyang Primary School. The new school was unfortunately too far away from the daycare centre, so she had to stop her volunteering commitments. I began looking for volunteering opportunities that took place during the weekends, and found that the library had a need for storytellers, which looked interesting.

That is the library’s good fortune. But why volunteer in the first place?

Sharon: My main goal was to provide opportunities for Sabrina to grow up to be caring, loving and empathetic towards those around her. I also wanted her to be independent and responsible. In fact, we started with a music concert. Together with some friends, I set up a group called Little Musical Gems back in 2014 and 2015 at library@esplanade to gather all our children who loved sharing music. I remember the many practices and rehearsals we had. We even trained the children to be emcees and rehearsed at each other’s homes. We performed for the patients at Tan Tock Seng and Raffles Hospitals as part of their Art of Healing programme. We’ve been active in community work for many, many years.

Sabrina performing at the library@esplanade during the Little Musical Gems Recital in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

How about you, Sabrina, why have you been volunteering?

Sabrina: I love reading, thanks to my mum. She inculcated a love of reading in me from a very young age when she taught me phonics and other skills. I wanted to share this with younger children even though I was inexperienced and still young then. I want to be like an older sister who shares with others that reading is fantastic. Many people are addicted to their phones and electronic devices, but it doesn’t have to be this way for children.

Sabrina guiding participants as they identify healthy food on a poster at Serangoon Public Library in 2019.

You have found a great way to engage your young audience with more than just stories. What kind of activities do you plan for them?

Sharon: We include origami folding, competitions and games in our sessions. These activities help to get them active and engaged in the story. Children get bored very easily if it’s just storytelling. So, when we see them getting restless, we ask them to stand up, run or dance a little.

Sabrina: I remember when I was a child, I was like that too and lost interest easily. My mum would think of different activities for me. Now, we prepare fun tasks for them, such as quizzes, to lead them to the moral of the story that we’re telling.

Sharon helping Sabrina with a visual matching game during a storytelling session in 2017.

You volunteer more often during the school holidays, as often as twice a month. How long do you take to prepare for each session?

Sabrina: In the beginning, it took about a week. I start choosing the stories for the sessions in advance. My mum and I would start thinking of the morals behind the stories and come up with the activities. At first, my mum would think of the activities. As I grew more experienced, I would go online to research, then prepare them. I would also think back to when I was at that age and recall what I liked. These days, I take three days.

Sharon: She would practise, and I would also monitor her and select the stories for the first few sessions. But she was able to handle it soon enough, and I would leave her to do the preparation work.

Sabrina: My mum still screens my book choices. Sometimes, if the book is too long or confusing, I’ll need to change it.

Sharon: Depending on the activity, we may buy the materials. Then she will cut out the shapes for the children to paste onto larger pieces of paper, and also learn how to fold the origami models from YouTube videos.

Sabrina researching and rehearsing a story before a storytelling session.

That’s a lot of dedication! What else do you do before the session?

Sharon: We also select 20 books from the library to prepare a book display. We make the effort to come early to choose the books and go through them. Then we will give a presentation and encourage the children to borrow the books.

Sabrina going through the books at the book display.

After the hard work spent preparing, what challenges do you sometimes face on the day of the storytelling session?

Sharon: Her first solo storytelling session was in an open space in a public area, not an enclosed room!

Sabrina: On that day, there was an event in the programme room, so the storytelling session had to be held in the open at the children’s section. I was nervous at first as there were many people looking at me. I tend to talk too softly and sometimes too quickly when I’m nervous. But it was a good thing that the children listened and answered my questions!

Sharon: As a parent, I was worried that other people would say that a young child was not good enough to be a storyteller. However, I was very proud of her performance that day. Other parents came by to praise Sabrina’s storytelling as they enjoyed the session! They asked how old she was and even asked how their own children could become volunteers. I’m happy that as a young child she is engaging other children and gaining experience at the same time.

How else have you benefited from your experiences as a storyteller?

Sabrina: As an introvert, I had to pluck up the courage to speak to an audience and make eye contact. I was just reading at first, then I stepped out of my comfort zone, and now, I tell the story. I like seeing the children smile at me and understand that storytelling was a time to just enjoy the story together and have fun.

Sharon: She has become more confident. She doesn’t just make the children happy, she’s also learning to present better. I do encourage her to not just read from the book but add to it, to turn it into a journey and to invite her audience to interact and engage with the storytelling. I’m proud of her and how far she has come in planning the games, crafts and activities, and doing the research before each session.

Do you have any advice for those who are considering volunteering?

Sabrina: It’s okay to be scared. No one is going to judge you, we can all learn together, and don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try new things. It’s great to share the love of reading with everyone. If you don’t have the courage to do it, just think about how you might find something unexpected out of it.

Sharon: Just go ahead to volunteer, and be inspired to help others. Parents have felt inspired to encourage their children to become storytellers after attending Sabrina’s storytelling sessions.

Thank you very much for your time, Sharon and Sabrina — both for this interview, and for volunteering at our libraries!

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Text by

Reena Kandoth

National Library Board