Day 6 - First Day At Placement

Because of holidays and orientation, today(Friday) was the first day we had at our placement. Myself and 3 other volunteers. We are voluteering at a nursery school with kids ranging from 2-6. Well as we drove up the road to the school a group of kids started running behind the vehicle yelling teacha teacha. We were driving on a dirt road which produced a lot of dust...the kids just closed their eyes and kept running and yelling teacha teach. We got there just before 8am and met some student teachers that were doing a placement at the school where we were volunteering. We played with the kids for about 15-20 minutes and then the student teachers organized the children into a big circle. We played a game similar to duck-duck-goose and sang traditional songs. At 9 it was off to the classroom where the teacher taught in Swahilli. At the end of the hour teaching session the kids had to draw a picture of a person holding a stick in their exercise books and to our surprise brought their pictures to the back of the class where we were sitting to grade. We put happy faces and wrote 'Vzuri sana' (Very good). At 10am Nate and I sat in front of a big metal tub of porridge that was cooked over a fire...we poured up porridge and handed it out to the kids. Amazing to see how grateful they were. When they were done their porridge we played some more. I found a big jug attached to a rope...I got one of the kids to sit on it and towed him around the dirt circle in the yard. They thought that was the best thing ever....they would take turns sitting on the jug and holding onto the rope with one hand and I would tow them around the yard. Kids are so appreciative of everything here....and are so respectful. The last hour of the morning was dedicated to relgion. We sat in the yard and sang songs. It was an awesome day that was too short for the volunteers...we wished the day could have been longer.