arts and crafts 2

My next arts and crafts room was the preK class (4 year olds mostly)…and colleen wants something they can really get into…she said she tried fingerprinting once but the teacher had the kids come up one by one and get their finger stamped…so we had a the idea of making playdough…I wasn’t too crazy about the first recipe we found—flour and salt as that is their main food here and it just doesn’t feel right using it for arts when so many people are hungry…so we found a recipe that uses sawdust—hopefully we can teach them not to eat it…but there are 26 kids in the class and as it was a trial we didn’t have enough stuff to make the dough with everyone…so I was trying to come up with different ideas for those who would be a different tables…we ended having a table for the dough, one with beading, one with threading shapes and coloring…I think they enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to going back next week to do another round of playdough and various activities…

signs

Going through town last week there are not many people on the roads (well moving on the roads—they do park on the roads) as there is a fuel crisis going on and no petrol or diesel is coming into the country (or very little). The lines at the gas stations are absurd in length and they don’t move…so cars on both sides of the roads often 2 deep and sometimes 3 (in the road)…so even if cars aren’t moving on the roads it is sometimes hard to get through. Also at the pumps are lines of jerry cans to be filled—long snakes that are impossible to satiate. But we pulled into a station that has a shopping center behind it but we couldn’t get through…so we were trying to turn around and saw this sign in the middle of nowhere—nothing above it but the sky…where things would fall from we weren’t sure…maybe just a warning for life in general…good advice to follow?

arts and crafts

So this week’s idea from colleen as to what I could be doing is arts and crafts for all the classes. I still haven’t quite gotten my reading schedule down in the classes…I know that 3rd and 1st grade have set times but K and 2nd are still eluding me…but now she wants crafts for all the classes…that is reception (3 year olds) to third grade…so Monday I was in the 3rd grade room as that is when their art period is. We did fingerprint designs—trying to be creative with the creatures made and to write a story to go with the picture…I tried to do an example sheet that had a tree (fingerprint leaves), a lady bug, a man (when asked the kids said it was a groundnut—much better for my story) and elephant…so my groundnut man went walking through a forest where he met some friends (ladybug, fish and elephant) simple…the kids loved it…we had hyenas, dogs, butterflies…

auditions

Last Monday we held auditions for our Christmas play…when the kids are all under 8 years old and there are no speaking parts I would never have imagined having auditions but there we were with papers in our hands to rate the various “actors.” The problem was that the 3rd graders of course would do the best the first time around…they know the story and they understand more of our English directions of where to walk and what movements to portray. But I think we got it figured out and have a selection of children to play the different parts (Mary, Joseph, innkeeper, registrar, angel, king, wise men, star holder, angel choir (all the rest of the girls) and shepherds (all the rest of the boys). Rehearsals have been going on all week and will continue through the month. We did have to change out our Joseph as he didn’t want to walk with our Mary but that comes with using children in our performances Our performance will be on November 25th in the church…I hope we’ll be ready (and I do think we will be)…

sunday school

Some weeks ago I went to church (I have been since then but this is for the story). Isabelle was here and we had sat down for the service. We listened to the different choirs and at the end of that time there was an announcement for the children to leave for Sunday school. Then we bowed our heads for prayer. I put my head down and before I knew it Willeke was right next to me…and she said would you mind doing Sunday school. I’ve done it once before (I did have more warning) and was given coloring sheets and the story (Abraham sacrificing Isaac—not easy for Sunday school). Well, ok. We went out and were pointed to the top of the church under the trees where there were about 15 kids waiting for us. And that was it…no story or supplies or anything…now I’m pretty confident in my bible knowledge and being able to tell stories and keep kids busy but with no notice and no planning my mind was completely blank. Luckily the ter haar girls were there and they helped me lots. Singing songs while I rack my brains for something to do for the next hour (or so…)
I decided on the good Samaritan and who is my neighbor. Most of the kids are Malawian and many of them don’t speak much English at all…so I told the story with as many motions and movements as I could. And then we acted it out…with robbers, and a priest, levite, Samaritan, innkeeper…it looked like they were enjoying the story and understanding though really I have no idea. Then we sang more songs and played duck, duck, goose. I think it was pretty successful but I’m going to have to come up with some more ideas as I think I might get sprung upon again…

electric mower

For a country that often has power cuts and water shortages and now fuel shortages I was quite surprised when Jamie Veitch from next door (for the time I’m house sitting) came by with an electric mower to cut the grass at Ute’s house (on the other side of me). Jamie is 14 and very interested in everything horticultural and agricultural…he’s got a plot in the garden, has his own chickens and helps around with all sorts of the outdoor things. Ute was out of town and due back last Saturday when Jamie came by. He asked if she was home…not yet. Oh well can I plug this in here. Um ok. He ran extension cords all the way next door. Found out one of them didn’t work and had to switch them out. Then he disappeared for a while. Came back later and asked again if she were there. Not yet. Does it not work? No it does work. What are you waiting for? Permission…so I gave him permission to cut my neighbor’s yard…he gave me a skeptical look but I told him I would take all the blame. So he got started. And it was very nice…of course he’d waited so long that he didn’t get to finish before it got dark but he made a great start and Ute was very happy when she got home. I mean who wouldn’t be if someone else cut your lawn?
Found out later that he had sent ute a text asking if he could do it…she didn’t know the number but responded that if it was Jamie it would be ok…but then along with everything else the texts are usually still coming through but at great delay…I’ve gotten ones that were sent at 2 pm but they came through after I was asleep—so around 11…luckily I don’t usually have much trouble falling asleep again…

clinic

We’ve had lots of new epilepsy patients—not surprising as word gets out that the medication is free (paid for by Africa Burn Relief). This entails making sure that people are really having seizures and not just coming for free stuff. Most of the time it really is (or they answer the questions correctly in describing the seizures). There are only 3 medications here for epilepsy and I think that mostly they have been eclipsed in the first world by other drugs to control (or try) seizures. We’ve been having different people see the clinic patients as Dr. Morton has been out of the country. This always takes a bit longer because the doctor isn’t familiar with the patients—not that Dr Morton knows them all but still…last week we had a new patient and while trying to get some background information the translator tells us that the woman is confused. Oh, well that’s not good. So the dr asks some basic questions to find out how confused…what day is it? Where are you? What is this (holding a pen, point to a chair) the woman was able to answer (Tuesday, hospital in nkhoma, pen, chair) then he pointed to the computer on the desk and asked what it was…well, the woman looked and looked, turned her head for a different angle—she just didn’t know what it was…comes from living in the village without electricity… goes to show you how much we take for granted…she was trying…she’d just never seen a computer before. Well, turns out she wasn’t confused per say—she just wasn’t answering the translators questions…