Inside Discovery Box: A World of Knowledge

Adults might be familiar with the pictures emblazoned on the sides: the vivid tissue-paper caterpillars of author Eric Carle, for example; the mild tree-climbing monsters of the Maurice Sendak children's classic "Where the Wild Things Are"; or the lovable French girl Madeline.

The Discovery Box is like a weekly Christmas gift for kids in elementary school. Inside are books -- and the gift of reading, something Eleanor Linberg, volunteer coordinator for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, and her corps of senior volunteers have been trying to give children in some Schenectady Catholic schools through the Discovery Box Intergenerational Literacy Program.

Read to me

At St. Anthony's School, St. Luke's School and Marian Academy, all in Schenectady, they come during and after school, the children gathering around them for the new week's adventure.

"Volunteers have the chance to shepherd little people," Ms. Linberg explained. "There's a wonderful bond between the volunteers and the children. A relationship with these little ones can make such a difference."

This bond lasts, says Jackie Oliveira, a teacher at St. Luke's, because many of the volunteers stay with the same group of children through a number of semesters. "The kids can't wait for the volunteers to come back and work with them."

Old and young

The Discovery Box program provides an essential opportunity to children who, due to a number of reasons, may not have had adequate exposure to books and reading. According to Ms. Linberg, children who haven't been read to by a parent or friend when they are young often do not reach the satisfactory reading comprehension level that they need to function as older students and adults.

"If little ones don't have a lot of contact with books, they might not want to read. Television is too easy to get, and books are key to learning," Ms. Linberg said. "The kids who can't read at seventh grade or ninth grade can be identified as early as five or six years," the age Discovery Box targets.

Chapter one

"A fifth- or sixth-grader acts as a mentor for a small group of three or four third- or fourth-graders," Ms. Oliveira explained about her program. "The volunteer reads the stories, and the group talks about the stories and then does activities in the boxes that center around the stories."

The mentors -- older children chosen for their ability to be role models -- show the younger children by example that reading can be more than just another chore. It also helps the mentors' self-esteem and their own reading ability to help the younger children grasp new concepts and learn new words, she said.

"The mentor is a reminder to the other children to read and to care about reading," Ms. Linberg said.

The Discovery Box program gives children "a chance to shine for someone," according to Diane St. Onge, principal of St. Anthony's School.

(More than 100 senior volunteers currently reach 600-plus children in the Capital District with more than 200 brightly-colored boxes. The Discovery Box Program is a part of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. Interested seniors can call RSVP at 442-5585 to apply for the Discovery Box Program training day, Oct. 4, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.)

(09-19-02) [[In-content Ad]]