Week Without Walls-Reflection

On the first day we went to the pre-school, we played with the children as soon as we got there for about half an hour. This included working collaboratively in the activites we planned in our groups before we arrived. This is also an example of how we planned and initiated these acivities. The place was not in bad condition but it was abit of a mess so i was happy that we were going to be clearing it up and painting over all the walls.














Murals:









First we had to clear the walls. There were many things stuck on the walls for decoration like streamers stuck with stickytape, so removing all the marks from the walls before painting was tiring. Then we had to sand paper the walls to create a smooth surface suitable for painting. The paint we had had already been labelled eg. yellow paint for the outside wall, grey for the floor etc. Each of us picked a job to do and got the right equipment and started. I was painting the inside wall which was pink but we painted it cream which was a big improvement as it made the room appear more spacious. This is one of the examples of how i became aware of my own strengths and weaknesses as i realized how i get distracted very easily.However, my strength is that by the time i have finished (even though it may take a long time) it will be done well. Some people painted the playground equipment and others started on the outside walls. By the end of the first day i was sure that we could finish the whole school by the second day.

We were so cohesive as a group and we managed to work even with people that we did not get along with. This is another strength that i became aware (and happy) about.

On the second day we arrived at the school and gave the kids drawing books and pastels so they drew and coloured for half an hour. Each of us had to look after at least one child and we could see that they were less scared of us. I know that i am not very good with entertaining young childtren-one of the areas that needs developing and as a lot of people in my class are, it was more difficult for me to try to have fun with my children as others were doing a much better job and i was gettning discouraged. We got back to our work and the people who were working on the mural started and pretty much finished that day. The outside walls and pillars were finished and the floor was started on, I was painting the floor with two other people and we worked very well together to finish it. We then started on the outside floor but it started raining so we had to leave it till the next day. That night at the hotel some people from our group drew, coloured and cut out animals and stuck them on lolly pop sticks for the puppet show we would perform the next day.

I was very pleased with our level of commitment and our ability to initiate the planning of the concert.

On the third day half the group played with the kids and the other half continued with the painting. I was in the group that played with the children. We played duck duck goose with them and by this time more children felt comfortable enough to play however some were still very scared. I felt as though i had improved in the way i related to the children as they were having fun and this is something that i feel i developed as a skill over a very brief period of time. Everything was finished before the concert which started at two. The outside walls, the mural, the pillars and the doors and windows as well as the floor outside was finished. At 2, the concert started, and we all sat down with the children and their parents as well as the others who had come to watch. The children did many dances and sang songs and people from our group participated as well. Then we had a puppet show.

I was so happy that the concert was successful and everyone had fun.



Me with some kids:










Group Photo:










Concert:










Group Picture:

Week Without Walls

My targets:
1. to interact with the children as much as possible
2.to be co-operative and helpful while working on our task and collaboratiing with others
3.to be as organised as possible
4.to develop the skill of being patient
5.to follow instructions wihtout complaining
6.to be able to work for prolonged periods of time in uncomfortable weather conditions
7. To consider the global implications of what we are doing for other (underpriviledged people)

My new targets:

Creativity:
My piano teachers are having a concert in mid June and all their students re performing. He told me today that i have to sing. i have never sung before, alone. this will be with a boy but i don't know him and i don't know how well he can sing. I have to practice singing and sing at the concert, and as i joined the choir i will be able to ask those teachers to help me improve my voice. This will include collaboration as well as alot of perseverence to get the performance right. Also my piano teacher wants me to do the grade 3 theory exam before october this year. I will skip grades 1 and 2 as they are very simple.This is a new challenge i am undertaking as i have never studied theory and i will be sitting an exam in it soon.

Action: Track is starting in two weeks and i haven't run competitively in about 8 months so i really need to start running and improving my speed. my events are normally 100 and 200 metres but you need t be able to do three events-jumping, throwing running etc and i have NO experince with jumping except i did long jump once about 3 years ago so this should be interesting! My aim is to improve my time for 100 metres and 200 metres. This will also include alot of commitment and time and effort. The jumping will include a new challenge i will have undertaken.

Service: My friend's mother asked me to teach english to some girls my age from an orphanage she works with. They have just fininshed their O Levels and are waiting for their results so she teaches them english everyday and asked me to meet them.

I am one of the leaders of the Alzheimer's elective in school and i really want to do more than the last two leaders did. they did a good job but my aim is to do even better and be more successful with the fundraisers. This will include planned and initiated activities and working collaboratively with others.

Recently more children have started coming to the convent on saturdays to learn english so i have alot more people in my group. I have become aware of my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher through the reactions of my students and how they perform in their tests. i also know what the areas i need to improve in are regarding the effectiveness of my explanations. My aim is to teach them all the alphabet and get the more advanced kids to start writing proper sentences.