WHERE ARE ELLA AND JC? Guest readers actors Ella Guevara and JC Tiuseco are surrounded by fans and avid listeners at the INQUIRER Read-Along. RICHARD A. REYES
To mark Children’s Month, stories about a naughty little owl, a playful boy and a model child-volunteer took center stage at Saturday’s Read-Along session at the Inquirer main office in Makati City.
Actors Ella Guevara and JC Tiuseco together read Grace Chong’s “Nag-iiyakang Mga Bata” (Crying Children), a story about a child who volunteers to look after a group of kids at a daycare center.
Newly trained storytellers Renz Danielle Dugenia, Danielle Serrano, Charles David Serrano, Gloria M. Riñoza and Inquirer librarian Odelyn Orolaza read “Si Wako, Ang Kuwagong Pilyo” (Wako, The Naughty Owl) by Victoria Añonuevo, which is about an owlet that learns the importance of obeying his parents.
Mentors read
Sophia School principal Ann Abacan and teachers Nerry Denilla and Lorna Darilag read “Si Pilong Patagu-tago” (Pilong Who Loved to Hide) by Kristine Canon, about a boy who loves to play hide-and-seek.
Guevara, 14, is a returning storyteller who has been part of Read-Along since 2009.
“I enjoy coming back because it makes me happy to know that I am able to help children like myself appreciate the joys of reading. I always have fun during the storytelling sessions,” said Guevara, one of the winners in the reality talent search for children, “Starstruck.”
Tiuseco, who won in the reality program “Survivor Philippines,” was a neophyte at storytelling and admitted to being “anxious and shy” before the session. The warm welcome he received from the children, he said, made him feel “a lot more relaxed.”
The duo’s storytelling was punctuated by loud shrieks from the young audience.
“It was really exciting. It was fun relating to a young audience, they were very responsive,” said Tiuseco, who has an upcoming show on GMA 7 this month.
Best of the group
Dugenia’s group bested a dozen other participants in the Inquirer Read-Along 101 training seminar on storytelling held earlier in the day at the Inquirer by Sophia School. The seminar’s culminating activity was Saturday afternoon’s Read-Along session with nearly 100 kids from St. Anthony of Makati Montessori School and Virlanie Foundation in attendance.
“The seminar speakers shared a lot of clear and effective techniques,” said Dugenia, a volunteer teacher at Alternative Learning System at the Society of the Divine Word in Tagaytay City who is also into the theater arts. “Even if the time was short, we had time to apply the different techniques taught to us.”
Another seminar participant, teacher Jill Mirvie Gaerla, described the seminar as “a refresher course.”
“The most important thing is to not be shy and enjoy what you do. You have to always be confident and never impose on children what values they should be learning from the story,” she said.
Amalia Flores, a participant from Couples for Christ (CFC) Foundation for Family and Life, said they were encouraged to join the seminar to improve their storytelling skills for their Kids for Christ chapter.
“We were encouraged by [Inquirer budget officer] Joel de la Cruz to participate so we can be competent guides for the children during our activities,” she said.
Edna Tangpos, also from CFC, said: “I only realized now how reading to children can really be a big help for them to learn a lot of new things. I will apply the techniques I learned here maybe to my grandchildren for them to appreciate reading well and to help enhance their imagination and creativity.”
Ysabela Louise Gomez, 12, said she enjoyed her first Read-Along session, adding that her favorite story, “Si Wako, Ang Kuwagong Pilyo,” taught her the importance of always listening to one’s parents. “Children should also read a lot of books in order to be informed,” she added.
Most important lesson
For her schoolmate, 11-year-old Isabel de la Cruz, “the most important lesson I learned today is to always have faith in God and never lose hope.”
Mike Runes, principal of St. Anthony of Makati Montessori, said the program was good for the students. “It encourages them to use books and reference materials which would enable them to learn so many things about life.”
Smasua S. Magbitang, a teacher at St. Anthony, agreed. “The students carry on the values from the books that they’ve read,” she said.
Saturday’s session, hosted by Libre editor in chief Chito de la Vega, was held in cooperation with Couples for Christ, St. Anthony of Makati Montessori School, Virlanie Foundation and Marian Domingo of GMA 7.
The next session, also to mark Children’s Month as well as the International Day of the Girl, will be held on Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. at the Inquirer office on Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City. Call Ellen or Malou at 8978808 ext 329. With reports from Kate Pedroso, Marielle Medina, Mary Beatrice Ponce and Schatzi Quodala, Inquirer Research