After a long, hard month of doing manual labor, we finally begin our ministry!!
I’ve become a pre-k teacher! My heart has never been happier to spend my days getting clung to, jumped on, and my hair pulled by the cutest, sweetest kids you can think of. Here is my adorable class…
I teach a class of 4year olds from 9am -12pm , then from 12pm-1pm we serve the whole school lunch, then from 1pm-2pm we have our own lunch and a little break, then from 2pm-4pm I tutor a class of 1st and 2nd graders helping them do their homework!
Here are a couple of my 1st and 2nd graders…
I’m joined by a couple of other girls from different teams on my squad living with me in Jeffery’s Bay, but I’m the only one from my team at this ministry. So, here are the girls on my new ministry team…
The school we teach at and serve lunch at is run by a church and is specifically for kids from the squatter camps here and is similar to a preschool. The 4-5 year olds only speak Xhosa (one of the many languages here, pronounced Cosa). However, they’re trying to learn English and Afrikaans so they can go to the real schools here.Then kids from primary school come to the preschool here after they get out of their real schools, so we get to help them with their homework from there.
Each day we have a pretty regular routine. The kid’s favorite part is definitely recess!
Recess is on a playground with a lot of open space to run around. Here are some amazing pictures, taken by my squad-mate Ally, of the kids having fun outside!
Another part of our daily routine is serving the kids lunch. Sometimes it gets a little hectic, but when it’s running smoothly, it looks like this…
As for the rest of my daily routine, here’s a run down of all the fun I had with my kids this week, including lots of pictures!
Monday:
I taught my 4-5 year olds, the words for face, eyes, nose, and mouth. Then we drew some faces. Next, I took them outside for recess. Then they had a snack, then I got to take them through this cool gymnastics/obstacle course, which they loved. Then we played with play dough and made faces out of that. Next, I read them a story and put them down for a nap then I went to go serve up lunch!
My 1st and 2nd graders had a bunch of math problems to do, so I got to help them with simple addition for two hours! Anything more than that in math and I wouldn’t be much help.
((Getting my hair done at recess))
Tuesday:
Today, my 4-5 year old class began with each child reciting the numbers 1-10 in Afrikaans. Then they practiced writing the number 2. Next, it was time for recess and snack. After that, the kids colored in shapes, cut them out, and glued them together to make little people out of them. Then, they ran through the obstacle course again and it was time to put them down for a nap could go serve lunch.
My 1st and 2nd graders had more math problems to do, just like yesterday.
((Playing with the kids at recess))
Wednesday:
This morning started out with reciting the numbers 1-10 and practicing drawing 2s again. I’ve gotten pretty good at saying the numbers in Afrikaans myself! Today was cold and rainy, so recess had to be indoors and was quite hectic as the kids didn’t really have anything to do. After that, the kids got their snack. Then, we spent the rest of the time coloring a picture until nap time.
My normal class of 1st and 2nd graders got split up today, so I went to a friends class and helped entertain some 3rd grade girls she tutors. They didn’t have any homework, so most of the time was spent learning hand games and having my hair “played” with.
((Two boys in my pre-k class))
Thursday:
Today began with the kids practicing reciting their names and ages in Afrikaans sentences. Then they traced and colored some shapes. Next, it was time for recess and and snack. Then we learned the color blue in Afrikaans, which is pronounced “blow,” and spent some time coloring blue circles. Then, they practiced writing the number 2 again and finally it was nap time.
The second graders in my tutoring class had English homework today! I got to help them match words to pictures and then color them.
((One of my second grade girls))
Friday:
Today was a little crazy. The morning started by each kid practicing their names and ages in Afrikaans sentences again followed by practicing naming the shapes. Then it was snack time, and I got kissed by one of my 4 year olds. I was kneeling next to one kid helping them, when all of a sudden, another kid runs up to me, grabs my face, and kisses me on the lips! I didn’t know what to do, I just laughed until I cried. It was quite the experience. After snack, we went out for recess. I attempted to teach them how to play duck, duck, goose, but I ended up getting my hair done. I spent the rest of recess playing hand games with the girls. When we came in from recess we got a sweet treat! The kids and I had strawberries and ice cream. After we cleaned that up, we went over the parts of the body. Then, it was time for nap, but today, instead of napping, the kids got to watch a movie.
On Friday’s there is no tutoring after school, so after that we served lunch and headed home.
((Playing hand games at recess))
And that’s the end of my week. So, I’ll leave you with some more amazing pictures taken by Ally. Enjoy these smiling faces that I get to love on each and every day!
Peace!
