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Have you considered the social benefits of reading with a group? Would you be interested in joining our groups to:  
 

Read with other families?

Read with other families?

Read with a group of new friends?

Read with fellow-workers during lunchbreak?
 
We encourage all these. Bones-N-Flesh Arts Society is keen to form “Reading Groups” and you're welcome to register through email or fax telling us your preferences of type of group and reading topics & literature.

Fax to us at (65) 6250 2162 or email us at nellie@bones-n-flesh.com NOW!  
   
 
 
It started with a few Bukit Batok mothers reading bedtime stories to their children in the privacy of their own homes.
After a while, they began holding these sessions at their block's playground.
Now, at least 30 children across the island get to enjoy listening to stories every fortnight at two Housing Board playgrounds.
One of the parents doing the reading is Madam Alicia Blackwell, 39, the vice-president of a society called Bones-N-Flesh Arts, which has taken on the running of the reading sessions.
They are getting so popular, volunteers are needed to help the society out. Its arts president, Mrs Nellie Har-Ko, 53, who works in the marketing and media industry, said: “We've got two story-telling groups going now, but we want to reach out to children in all housing estates.”
The non-profit group was set up last year with the aim of revitalising society through the arts and various community projects.  
The Neighbourhood Readers' Circle scheme, where volunteers read out stories for free in playgrounds, is one of its first projects.  
The Bukit Batok group came about when Madam Blackwell started reading last year to a few children at the playground.  
Her friend, Mrs Har-Ko, thought it was a “fantastic idea” and started her own group at Hougang in May.  
On Sept 27, she will launch a third group – at the playground between Potong Pasir's blocks 139 and 143 on Friday evenings.  
More than reading takes place amid the see-saw and slides.  
Mrs Har-Ko said: “We also do some play-acting, or add a bit of music and singing. Sometimes, I give the children a little comprehension test at the end and prizes, like chocolate bars and stickers, for the right answers.”  
The sessions take place on Saturday evenings and are about 45 minutes long, with three stories read each time.  
Most children who attend them are between three and 12 years old, and come from non-English speaking homes, said Mrs Har-Ko. “I've had a few parents tell me they can't read English to their children and are glad we're helping.”