“An open book is a brain that talks; closed, a friend that waits; forgotten, a soul that forgives; destroyed, a heart that cries” Hindu Proverb
From a very young age, students embark on the journey of listening to incredible stories told by books and find joy in reading. It’s a fundamental resource in the Early Childhood stage and throughout their school life.
Every day, our students relish the storytelling moments in school and in each classroom library. These places are not just learning spaces; they’re magical realms full of adventures, tranquility, imagery, and subtle symbols that many are yet to decipher. They also visit the “Emotions Library” in the “Letters’s Island”, a unique learning space, to learn to interpret and manage their emotions.
Despite the care our students show for the stories, from frequent use, they begin to become damaged and deteriorate. What do we do with them? Hence arose the project: “The Book Hospital”; a space to repair them. But who repairs the books? The students themselves; the older ones from Preschool, the 5-year-old classes.
The hospital needed to be placed where all ages could access it, so it was located on the Letter’s Island.
Why there? Because it’s the ideal place to give visibility to a project so significant for all, based on practical values for our students’ lives. Values such as repairing, reusing, recycling, reducing, and reclaiming, all directly linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Learning in a playful manner the importance of repairing and reusing objects, giving them a second life, and caring for the planet, which is our most precious asset.
As it’s a spacious area, our students can engage in book repair tasks with a variety of materials. There are shelves where this hospital can permanently reside with classified sections for damaged books separate from the already repaired ones.
Students love this project because they practically and usefully engage in their work. They see meaning in it because they’re not only repairing their books but those of the entire Preschool. They identify books that need repair and take responsibility for hospital tasks.
The space is marked by numerous red crosses indicating health, so all students recognize the purpose of this place.
It’s a purely altruistic endeavor. The students in the final year of Preschool become aware of the importance of helping others. At the project’s inception, they went class by class explaining the importance of the hospital, book care, and its simple operation.
All students have an active role in the project. Some must bring books from their libraries to the hospital and place them in the “sick” book area, and the 5-year-old students repair them and place them in the “healthy” book area to be collected by the children who brought them.
The 5-year-old students have fully taken on the responsibility for the proper use of the book hospital. And everyone has become aware of the importance of care by reducing the number of damaged books throughout the school year
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Thanks to all who have participated in the development of the project.
Sara Mena (Preschool Teacher) and Raquel Toro (Coordinator and Preschool Teacher)
