For the first project, our class made a book to teach the Kenyan students about some of the important things about Canada. We started by reading "The Important Book" by Margaret Wise Brown and then brainstormed important things about Canada that we wanted to tell the Kenyan kids about. Each one of our students then picked one of the topics and did some research on it to find out more information. From there, each student used the same organization as "The Important Book" to write a paragraph on their topic. Each student also drew and colored a picture to illustrate their topic. Every student used the computer to type a short paragraph about themselves that was also included as part of their entry. I then put all of the pages together and bound them into a book, complete with cover that included a class picture taken on our playground.
Before I presented the finished book to the Kenyan kids, I read them "The Important Book". It was such a lovely afternoon, so I read it to them outside, under a tree.
Then it was time to share our "All About Canada" book--they loved it! They couldn't wait for me to turn the page to find out what they were going to learn about next and who wrote it.
The other project involved having all of the students make bookmarks for the Kenyan kids. I knew I would be spending a few days at Segera and that they had about 200 kids. My goal was to have a bookmark to give every student at this Kindergarten to grade 4 school. Our class made 2 different kinds of bookmarks and there were a number of other classes from our school that made bookmarks as well. In this picture, you can see me handing out the bookmarks to each student. They also received a pencil, toothbrush and other goodies from our team.
I had the chance to spend a lot of time in Susan's grade three classroom. I did a lesson on "Wangari's Trees of Peace" by Jeanette Winter with the grade three students. (I have also done the same activities with my grade three students in Canada for the last couple of years.) This is a true story about a Kenyan woman who started planting trees and created the Green Belt Movement. After reading the book, they had to work with a partner (which was pretty new for them) to put the story in order.
Then, they had to paint each space with watercolor paints.
When I do this with my Canadian students, we talk about the dove being a symbol of peace and so we place a dove on the page. In Africa, the tree is a symbol of peace, so each student then drew a tree to finish off their masterpiece.
They were so pleased to see their completed art work up on the wall of their classroom!
A friend of mine from Music Together in Edmonton donated some instruments for me to give the students. Although the Kenyan people are very musical, these students had not seen or tried many of these instruments before but loved experimenting with them. They sang a couple of songs while trying them out. (In the picture below, you can see their teacher, Susan, putting out the instruments.)
My time at Segera was incredible. The kids were fantastic--I had so much fun with them and the teachers were so eager to learn about other ways to teach. I've left a part of my heart with the people of Segera as it was truly an unforgettable experience.
