On October 12, the gymnasium of the Gelderlandschool in The Hague was transformed into a real one Bolsters-city. No fewer than 375 students from groups 1, 2 and 3 were put to work on reading and writing assignments in a playful way and were treated to great performances by Miss Roos and Wildebras.
The event was based on the theme of Children’s Book Week: At My Home. Various fun activities were organized for the students to get them enthusiastic about language, reading and writing. Diversity, inclusivity and respect were also important pillars within the Children’s Book Week theme.
The Bollebozen city
The gymnasium of the Gelderlandschool was transformed into a real Bollebozen city, with four rooms full of activities. Children walked through a maze, received a workbook full of puzzles and assignments and played fun language games. Miss Roos came by to read, and Wildebras gave a great performance. The day was presented by Noah Zeeuw.
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The Bollebozen event took place at four primary schools in the Netherlands. It was a big success. “We notice that children read little. An event like Bollebozen excites them again and can therefore be an initiative to start reading more again,” says the teacher at OBS De Blauwe Lijn in Amsterdam with satisfaction.
“I think reading is very important, because you can use your own imagination when reading,” Wildebras explains during his performance. “For example, when you read a book, you can unleash your own creativity and let everything speak to your imagination.”
Children read less and less
Dutch children are reading less and less, according to numerous studies. Average reading skills have plummeted in recent years. A third of students in group 6 do not enjoy reading – especially the mandatory long reading list seems to kill the pleasure of reading.
This needs to change, Educational Netherlands believes. Parents, teachers, government and companies are trying to bring back reading pleasure to children from an early age. Bol – the largest (children’s) bookseller in the Netherlands – also puts words into words for their mission of more reading pleasure among children.
Bol initiatives
To make this mission a reality, Bol has organized various initiatives in recent years under the cozy name Bolsters. Because “every child deserves a book”.
Bollebozen has previously made e-books and audio books available for €0.01 (the BoekieClub), created free reading quizzes for schools and offered various activity books and letter fun packages cheaply to reach even more kids. Bollebozen also donated approximately 30,000 book bags via the Youth Education Fund during the summer holidays, and 80,000 books during this Children’s Book Week.
The Bollebozen event at primary schools is therefore a nice addition to these initiatives.