Please stay tuned, we are updating solentiname.org, to get a bit more funtionality, and information on the site. Next we will be working on the tourism sections of hotels, guides and other info.

Thanks for checking and and please register if you would like to stay involved. 

Hello, not sure who reads this, if I should write in Spanish or English. I came to visit Solentime in June of 2004. I was doing a photography project for my thesis in college. Now, six years later I am interested in returning. This time I want to stay for longer and volunteer in whatever I have the skills to provide and is needed.

I would love to hear more about what is goiing on in the community from anyone reading this. 

Thanks!

Leticia*

 Our first session of EBS Baile starts this weekend!  We are incredibly excited to begin this program in living memory of Elena Bright Shapiro.  Three teachers are coming to Mancarron from San Carlos in order to teach traditional Nicaraguan folklore dancing.  We met Rómel, the main instructor in San Carlos Tuesday, and he seems incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about dance.  He along with the two other instructors will arrive Friday night, and begin with an introductory class.  The lessons will continue all day Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, with a performance Monday evening for the community.  We are holding the classes in the main auditorium of Hotel Manarrún.  They were nice enough to provide us with this room for free.  We can´t wait to get started with the program, and hope to provide you with an update early next week! 

Leer Solentiname continues to be in its initial stages, but is making great progress.  We have a total of 12 out of 14 students from the primary grades (first, second, and third) attending sessions regularly.  We created an incentive based program to encourage attendance, in which every three times a student attends, they receive a small prize, and the ninth time they attend, they receive a larger prize.  The students are very

enthusiastic about the program, and most would attend without the promise of an incentive.  However, we feel it is important reward students for making the positive choice of coming to a reading group during their free time.

     We meet with the first grade students every Tuesday afternoon.  We practice group reading in which the students take turns reading pages aloud to the entire group.  Each week, the book focuses on a different group of letters or sounds.  For example, last week we read a book that focused on ¨ca, co, and cu.¨ Afterward, the students are asked to do an activity that reinforces their understanding of these letters and sounds.  To continue with the previous example, students were asked to look back in the story and make lists of words that started with each of the sounds.  We are working really hard to create a reading environment in which students are patient with and encourage each other while reading.

    We meet with the second and third grades every Wednesday afternoon.  We have started reading Charlotte´s Web, and the students absolutely love it.  We begin each session by reading a chapter aloud from the book.  Afterward, the students are asked to complete a worksheet which asks what the chapter was about, and which was their favorite part.  These are important questions to enhance main idea and sequence of events skills, but also importantly ask the student of his/her opinion of the chapter.  After this activity, we either do independent reading, in which students select their own books, or complete an activity as a group that works on a specific skill set. 

     Future goals for Leer Solentiname include expanding the program to the higher primary grades, and eventually to other elementary school in the islands.  We eventually hope to create a rotating library of books that can travel to each of the eight elementary schools.