A Home Away From Home

          We worked with the kids of Project Las Americas today and it was so much fun! First we split up into groups and my group went to the first school to help the teachers with their activities. We first worked with pre-school kids and did an activity where the teacher read a story and then asked the students questions about it. The kids were so energetic and rowdy and I almost forgot how great it was to be so free and happy. Even though there were so many distractions in the classroom and the kids were running around, they miraculously knew all the answers to the questions and it was great. When those little cuties left, we got to work with third graders and we did a fun activity where we exchanged seats based on what was said in a story. Needless to say things got a little hectic with all the moving around but it was still fun. That was where I got to meet one of the girls who told me about her brothers and sisters in the little time that we shared together. From what I could understand, I was very happy to hear that her older sister went to school and so that's why her and her younger brother were also encouraged to go to school. Education here is an individual effort but when you're young, it is especially a result of your environment and what kind of support system you have.
          Later on in the day the kids had recess which they seemed to really love. I mean I enjoyed recess back in the day but here it seemed like every age group was our together and there were no really structured activities, everyone was just running around and having a good time. After recess we worked with fifth graders who were placed into groups and had to come up with a story based on pictures on their table. We listened to their stories and picked the best one. A story about a poor musician who nobody supported because of his background. The musician persevered and eventually became famous and lived happily ever after. This story really had a great message, and these students are really creative!
          The second school my group went to was less structured than the first one but had a similar dynamic. The students were often playing around outside or even in the classroom, but at the same time they still were engaged and very talented at multi-tasking because they could still answer questions and do their work even with all the chaos going on around them (All of the classrooms are structured with open windows and doors probably because of the heat. I even had a tough time hearing the teacher). I have to say this was pretty impressive and I could tell the students enjoyed being in school and the teachers truly enjoyed teaching and being with the kids because it seemed ten times harder teaching in this kind of environment. We even got to try our glitter activity where we explained how easily germs spread when you d on't properly wash your hands. We did this by putting a different color glitter on the kids' hands and having them shake hands with one another and by the end each kid had about two or three different colors on their hand. After we went over a proper hand washing technique. Overall the entire day was busy but satisfying and a lot of fun.
          I think one of the main things I took away from today was that school was a home away from for these students. It was where they could go to learn and see their friends. It was where they often had most of the meals they would eat for the day. It was where they could run around free and just enjoy themselves, and be kids. Living in the Dominican Republic the kids might not always have the best stress free environment at home and I feel like school is somewhere they can go to escape. At the same time, knowingly or not, they are taking the steps to better their future so that eventually they won't have to go back to a home that is negatively affected. I had so much fun working with all the kids today and it reminded me, while education is important, have fun with it and everything else will fall into place.