Pre-K KOREH Volunteer Voices

By Nancy Vimla
Burlington Head Start Center


Nancy Vimla with her reading partners
Brittany and Ramcess
As a Pre-K KOREH volunteer, I have had the privilege of reading with two preschool children, Brittany and Ramcess, at Burlington Head Start Center. As with most volunteers, it took a couple sessions for Brittany to open up to me. I started reading her the ABCs and bringing in picture books. Every week we would review the alphabet and when Brittany learned her ABCs, I was thrilled. Brittany’s love for picture books inspired me to bring in more. Brittany moved right into shapes and colors, which took some time, but after a lot of praise and hard work she got it and was very proud of herself.

Ramcess is an adventurous boy whom I have only known for a month. We are learning the letters in his name. Creating a melody is an easy way to teach children their names. Ramcess and I sing out loud with lots of enthusiasm. I look forward to helping Ramcess progress even more.

Supporting these children is very important to me. I know the one-on-one time shared with them has improved their reading readiness skills. They are excited as I am each week we get together. Many children have greatly benefited from this program and I plan on extending my one day a week commitment to two next school year.