Milk is a Super Food
A few of the days we have spent in Nepal have been spent teaching at the school nearby, Holy Land Academy. We have each had an opportunity to pour out our knowledge and share it with the school children. It has truly been a challenge and a step outside of our comfort zones. We split up into groups on the first day we taught. I was on a team with Sam and Josi and we went to a class of children of first and second graders. They did not know a lot of English, so that created a barrier of communication. However, it did not stop the smiles and laughter that came from their sweet little hearts. We tried teaching them English, but ended up having them copy our action game swimming, dancing, twirling, eating, etc. We would say the word in English and then have them say it and then perform the action. It was a lot of fun and they all were laughing the whole time.
We then moved on to teaching them math. It was difficult because the teachers were not in the room with us, and they all shared books. The children would grab a book from their bags or from their friend, bring it to us and turn to a page that was not already written on. They may not have understood simple addition, but that didn’t matter, they were on the page learning how to do multiplication. That’s how it was with one of the boys I was trying to teach. I ended up playing a simple learning game, where I taught him how to say different animals in English and he taught me the name in Nepali.
We taught another group of children that were probably in third and fourth grade. We taught them science, all about the human body. They seemed to understand English a little more and were able to all participate and communicate a little bit more. We taught them about the different body systems and what different types of food do for our bodies. We all learned something from this day. Josi was teaching about foods, specifically milk. She taught that milk is a super food. It helps with making your body strong, giving your body energy and gives you super powers.
I guess I will be drinking more milk from now on.
Another day we spent at the class was more enjoyable for me because I felt more useful. I got to use my tutoring skills in math and not only teach the children how to multiply but also my team for the day, names unmentioned, how to do simple multiplication.
