“Tales and Talents” is an organization of Canadian volunteers. Within the project “Ukraine Speaks English,” they have been conducting lessons for junior school students every week since May 2022. Every lesson includes various activities, from art and science for children to stories about the adventures of the Godzilla puppets – Seymour and Olie. Before each lesson, the volunteers write the scenario and rehearse it to make sure that the lesson goes smoothly.
“Smart Osvita” talked to the group member Ron Nichol to learn more about the volunteers’ initiative.
How the initiative started
According to Ron, the concept of “Tales and Talents” (the original name was “Books and Boardgames”) appeared in 2016 as a result of cooperation between an Abbott School Mental Health Nurse, Mardi Hardt, and an employee of the Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton, Shelley Sabo.
The idea was for retired people to come to school to talk to the children and tell them stories while playing board games. When the focus on board games subsided, the initives’ name was changed to “Tales and Talents.” After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the volunteers created an online version of the program, mastered Zoom meeting skills, and continued working with children.
How did the group join the “Smart Osvita” project and start conducting lessons for children in Ukraine?
Ron remembers that in the spring of 2022, he and his daughter Laura, who worked in Fort Edmonton Park, were contacted by David Falconer, Head of one of the Canadian schools and initiator of the Classrooms Without Walls organization. He offered to conduct a Zoom meeting for the children in Ukraine about this historic park.
“Laura and her colleagues conducted the meeting, and as they know about my work in Abbott School and how we made Zoom sessions for schoolchildren, Laura asked me whether the teachers from “Tales and Talents” could help. Our volunteers enthusiastically agreed. We contacted David, and our first broadcast in Ukraine was on May 24, 2022,” says Ron.
Since then, for two years in a row, Ukrainian children aged four and older have joined the lessons with a group of volunteers and learned many interesting things every month. The children themselves are the main motivators, say the volunteers. And also, the teachers in this way want to:
- Show Ukrainian children and parents that people in the whole world are supporting them and want to help as much as they can;
- Share stories and activities with the children so that they can get a bit distracted from the everyday difficulties they face;
- Help children increase their level of English;
- Share information about their part of Canada with the children.
“I think that the moment we enjoy most of all during our monthly meetings is communication with the children, their questions, their drawings, pets and toys, stories that they share with us. Gradually, we started recognizing the children who regularly attend our classes, and frankly speaking, we are impressed with their English, artistic skills, and enthusiasm. Volunteers of “Tales and Talents” who conduct classes in Ukraine are looking forward to our monthly sessions and the joy they create for the children. And we are grateful for the work of the “Smart Osvita” team and that of the people “behind the scenes” who make these lessons possible”, sayd Ron Nichol.
We are happy to have had such excellent teachers and partners throughout these years. Thank you for staying with the children and with Ukraine!
The project “Ukraine Speaks Englis” is implemented by NGO “Smart Osvita” in partnership with “Classrooms Without Walls”/Teachers for Ukraine.
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