Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheina Oelsner
Hi Sheina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My family and I moved from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 9 years ago. Originally, I came to do my masters in Special Education at UCF. I didn’t consider all the changes life could take when moving countries, so I decided to get settle before going back to my studies. After one year living in Winter Park, we bought a house and I got pregnant with our second daughter. Before moving here, I thought biligualism would come naturally, it was only necessary to keep speaking portuguese with my daughters that they would learn and speak both languages. I was wrong. It needed to be intentional. Since, my kids preferred reading and listening stories in english, I decided to create something that could be more attractive to the girls to learn portuguese. I started creating games and crafts inspired in children brazilian books that i loved. Quickly, i realized other families could enjoy these materials like my family was enjoying.
Back in Rio, public libraries are not really used by families but I absolutely love Winter Park library and the possibility to get to know different books without the obligation to buy them. I wanted to copy the libraries’ operation, but doing it nationally with brazilian books. With the help of my husband, we were able to create that. Fast forward almost 3 years, we have 80 families across the country that receive and send back books every month and play in portuguese with my creations. It’s pretty neat.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been definitely a rollercoaster. I thought it would be easy to find brazilian families interested in the best books Brazil has. But it is not. Business today depends on social media and I don’t like it any bit. So I struggle to shoot videos and be more present online. There are many brazilian families that still think just talking in portuguese will be enough for kids to keep their heritage culture and language, which is not necessarily true. Many brazilian families also havent learnt about the beauty of libraries and they want a subscription where books are owned instead of borrowed.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an educator passionate about creating materials that will impact the families that I attend. I develop crafts and games based on the books of our Library. We are the only book subscription in the world that borrow books. We are also the only subscription that combine books and crafts.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I hope we can reach at least 100 families by the end of May.
We have families that are with us for more than 2 years and these kids now are learning to read and write with the activities that I developed for older kids.
Pricing:
- $27 monthly subscription
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nossosbrazileirinhos.com
- Instagram: @nossosbrazileirinhos
- Facebook: Nossos Brazileirinhos
