In the morning at 6am, a few of us went down to the lake to have a morning sunrise swim. Izzie, Phoebe, Sophia, Anna, Abi and Goooooldieeeeeeeeee went diving in the clear blue lake. The morning was really clear and so we could see the outline of Mozambique. Once we had gathered we began the long walk to bwelero school. We were greeted by the children as we reached the school.
After sorting our resources we all ran, hand in hand, to class. Greeted by a huge cheer the lessons started off straight away. Our lesson, (Sophia, Phoebe, Charlotte and Miriam) concentrated on greetings. Chanting “good morning” and “nice to meet you”, all the children enjoyed the learning as much as we did teaching. Using different teaching skills we had adopted over the week so far we threw balls around, used songs and dances and every child left the class being able to greet people in English as if they had been speaking it their whole lives. We were all uber impressed.
Following a quick rummage in the resources room, we all headed our again to teach our second, longer classes. Teaching standard five, we started off with a maths lesson on ratio from Charlotte. Despite the language barrier Charlotte managed to convey the tricky subject and all the children were soon shouting answers happily. For the second half of the lesson, I, Phoebe, taught a ‘Parts of the Flower’ lesson. Using a combination of singing, chanting and fun worksheets every child left the lesson very ratio and parts of the flower savvy.
For lunch we were delighted by a delicious home cooked dinner by the school chefs of soya and rice. Then we were ready to set off for our afternoon home visits. Each group of six were given the opportunity to visit the home of one of their student’s classes.
Our group visited the home of a young standard 2 boy, Leonard. Following him home we learnt how long his daily journey to school is and after a conversation with his mum and four other siblings we learnt how difficult his life and things that we take for granted were.
What a wonderful experience for the children and all of you .enjoy X
Hey Phoebe, and everyone else contributing to the blog(s), thanks for sharing what you’re doing out there. We have really enjoyed hearing about your experiences. It sounds (and looks) like the kids really appreciate you being there for them. We’re very proud of you, keep it up!
Love to you all,
Murdo & Chris
ps Phoebe – re your “which side of a right angled triangle are you?” question, did you mean “hide” not “side”?
A native american chief has 3 wives who each live in their own teepee. The first sits in her teepee with her son on a rug made from buffalo skin. The second with her son on a rug made from elk skin. The last one sits with her twin boys on a rug made from the skin of a hippopotamus.
Which just goes to prove that the squaw on the hippopotamus hide is equal to the sons of the squaws on the other two hides.
Hi Team Paul Sanderson here Chair of Trustees and number 1 fan of all you are doing. Thank you on behalf of the trustees for all your hard work, team jokes, patents with each other and your world changing mentality. Opprortunities like you haveing are rare so treat each day like its the last and keep encouraging one anther and building each other up and giving of yourselfs to the amzing community you are serving. PS give Helen a hug from me and tell her to sit down when she is eating!! God bless u in all u do!
Lovely to hear from you Again we look forward to the blogs everyday and to hear what you’ve been doing.. Must be so nice to hear the children cheering when they see you all.. And every time you hear the Hokey Cokey when your home you’ll have beautiful happy memories, what an experience for each and every one of you keep up the good work guys and be proud of yourselves as we all are. Zac hope your well.. Hey and gues what I did today Zac I actually cut the hedges dad was adamant he wanted to do it but I wouldn’t let him ? And I must say think I done a grand job their no longer straight ? But for first attempt I think I done my self proud just said to dad he can straighten them up when he feels stronger any way lots of love Zac .. See you soon Mum,Dad,Jade,Aiden,Sonny,Roberto and Breeze xxxxxx
Hello all,
Still just as wonderful to read and see your adventures! It sounds like you’ve all really hit your stride with the teaching; did I see on Miss Bournon’s twitter someone teaching ‘The Lifecycle of a Star’? Those kids are getting a proper first-class education! Astrophysics, Etiquette, Botany, Mathematics, and the Hokey Cokey… That’s what it’s all about!
Are the crazy trousers a local speciality and has Miss B got some yet – I suppose one puts one’s left leg in and out and shakes it all about etc?
Christian and Bert B
Great to hear of the ‘parts of a flower’ song! Can’t believe you got up at 6am for a swim Sophia – Bravo! Bodes well for the rest of the holidays. It looks amazing. Difficult to tell which one you are as everyone has the same trousers with slightly different patterns! Hope you are having a fab time – miss you.
Big love, Phil, Paula, Lucy and Bea xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and Gertiexxx
It is great to read in this blog of all the work you are doing and your reflections about the lives of the children there. I am interested in the visit to the home of Leonard and how different you thought his life was to yours – there are no doubt a lot of things many of us take for granted in our privileged lives in the UK. It seems a very valuable experience for you to witness this first hand and it is something you can bring back with you. Hope the rest of the trip continues to yield such valuable experiences for you all. A special hello to Sophie C xxxx
Hello everyone . Can’t believe your week of teaching is over – from all accounts you have all done an amazing job of teaching the children and learning from them, bringing laughter and smiles all round ! You can be so proud of yourselves as we are of all of you. Thank you to the bloggers ( right word !) – your stories and photos are the highlight of our evenings ! We are missing you very much Jasneev and cannot wait to see you and listen to your stories about all your adventures. Love to all and love and big hugs to you Jasneev. Take care. The Gill Family
Greetings from grey Brighton, outside the Co-Op in fact! I can really imagine you getting stuck in there lovely Lola! You are a natural with young children. What an eye opener you must be having. Giff and Lily are away for a week so it’s just Dyl and I, very quiet as Dyl just really speaks yes and no language! But we are sending you lots of love, you star. Xxx
Hi Everyone ! Sounds like you’ve had a brilliant week. Loving the stories about chickens, monkeys and dogs etc ! Have a brilliant weekend and enjoy the rest of the stay. Anna we’re really missing you ! Lots of love, Mum, Sophia, Nilla and Katia xxx