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: