Work that is keeping me busy these days!

Teachers at Macha Central making resources for their classroom out of recyclables

It's term 1 here (January - March) and this has been the beginning of a new school year.  The Zambian system starts in January and ends in December (unlike our September - June system).  There are 3 terms with approximately a month break in between.  Things start slowly at the beginning of the term as schools get organized, classrooms get cleaned (usually by the students), and things start up again.  This year school's "Opening Day" was January 12.  Things ended up starting even slower this year because Zambia had an election on January 20th.  I believe all (or at least almost all?) of my 8 schools were polling sites.  The government also trains teachers (for extra pay) to work at the polls for the election day.  It was declared a holiday, so there was no school.  Leading up to it and a couple days after the election were slow days for my work as the schools were very busy with lots of election things on their minds!

Now I'm into the full swing of things!

My Feb. calendar of work visits!

I've been visiting all my schools with the goal to get in 3 visits each this term (it won't happen at all schools - the elections bumped things back more than I expected). I go out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. (Tuesdays and Thursday I do prep/ office work from home / homeschool Kate). During my visits it's my goal to do follow up with my previous workshop from term 1 last year (see link: http://offeringupmylife.blogspot.ca/2014/03/my-first-workshops.html) since many teachers "shifted" (were transferred / moved) I'm just making sure that there's at least one teacher who is confident and willing to re-teach the BINGO and phonics songs to the new teachers.  If not, I demonstrate them again and I am delivering at least one copy of each of these per grade. The one set I gave out last year mainly sat in an office in my bin to "keep safe." :(  A few head teachers (principals) made a few copies, but mainly they were not getting used unless the teachers had drawn their own BINGO games themselves.

On top of handing out the BINGO and song phonics resources I am also bringing cardboard, scissors, glue, markers, crayons, yarn, a single hole punch, glue gun, and materials to make sock puppets.  It's been a really exciting time for me to watch a roomful of people who haven't had the opportunity to craft be given that opportunity!  Some teachers need me to walk them through each step to make a sock puppet (I have 5 examples) and most schools just copy the other samples I brought if they make teaching resources: lacing (sewing) cards, an "African Adventure" game (Candyland!), a number game called "lucky 6s", and an Uppercase / Lowercase letter matching game (many of these I leave one copy behind for them).  Other teachers start off cautiously and then whole heartedly make teaching aids that will help them.

Lacing / sewing cards (pre-writing skills - you have to hold
the thread like a pencil. It's also good fine motor skills
practice

African Adventure Game
(Candyland: teaches colours)

Sewing Card, Lucky 6s game, and ABC/abc matching
Along with the book "It Costs Almost Nothing" which gave me many
(not quite all) of these ideas!

Sock puppets (Bonster the Monster, 3 girls, and
a blue elephant

I do find that most teachers (not all by far) make teaching aids that will go on the walls as opposed to making games the children can play. Understandable because 1) the District Education Board (aka: school district) has a checklist for observing teachers and a big one is how decorated the room is with teaching aids.  I've seen a huge jump in this because of their checking up. When I first came there were maybe 2 hand drawn posters on the walls. Now, teachers have almost no wall space - it's all covered with hand drawn posters.  Almost to the point where in Canada they would be telling me to take them down as it was too much visual stimulation! 2) Secondly, because of the sheer volume of students in each classroom.  I'm hoping to post another post (when I get time!) about the realities of the school system in Zambia. But almost all of my schools have between 40-60 students in each class. It makes it a daunting task to make that many games so the students could play at the same time.  Possible - but a lot of work if you are teaching Grade 1 but know next year you'll be teaching Grade 2, and the following year Grade 3.  It's possible you won't teach Grade 1 again until you loop after Grade 7.  So why make the games?  Maybe one or two but not 30!  Besides there is no where to store them for that long unless you pass them to the next teacher. They won't last long with that many kids!

One of the head teachers (principals) came in to check out what we were doing and exclaimed "This is really going to help us with our goal of reducing absenteeism!"  (Many students at this school skip school to sell things to the passing vehicles, market style, to make money).

For the rest of my post I'll let the photos do the talking.  I'm having a hard time taking photos in the dark schools with the bright sunlight in the windows - so here's my apology for some not so great photos but at least they still show a picture (I also only had my iPhone at one place...)

A checkers (Draft) board a
Grade 5 teacher made

Making puppets at Batoka

Making a puppet at Batoka

Using a glue gun for the first time!

Playing with her newly made sock puppet!

Making an African Adventure game board

Colouring her Alphabet Jive

Preparing the hair for a sock puppet at
Macha Central!

Crafting!

Making teaching aids (photo 1) 

Teaching aids (photo 2)

Almost finished colours teaching aids (photo 3)

Making teaching aids (letter, syllable, word cards) at Macha Central

Drawing letters for teaching aids
at Macha Central

Making puppets at Nahumba

I can't believe this is blurry!
Misozi Banda Ndenduloa at Nahumba 

Colouring Alphabet Jive books

This is what I'm starting to work on now for my second visit to each school: (following up on my term 2 literacy workshop on phonemic awareness from last year: http://offeringupmylife.blogspot.ca/2014/07/phonological-awareness-workshops.html)

We spent most of the day cutting these letters out (I did lots ahead of time, but I have 8 schools with at least 4 classrooms each, plus English AND Chitonga!)

Then we put them up.  This is the Grade 1 room at Mboole (all the walls were full of posters already - so she opted to put the word wall under the board).

Mboole has been my "guinea pig" this term as they have been very keen to have me and have been the first ones to ask me to come so I'm learning as I go too!

I have a school visit on Friday and Monday and then all 8 schools will have had me once. I gave myself a prep day next Weds. before I start doing the second round of visits - handing out words walls and doing follow up for my term 2 workshop.  I'll continue to bring cardboard and supplies to make resources and the schools that are gung-ho I'll really try to squeeze in that third visit for (before they start exams).  Term pretty much ends at the end of March (there's a week and a half in April but with exams and Easter I know the schools will be busy). By Easter my life (work) will slow down a bit as I prepare for term 2.

Word Wall we put up yesterday in the Grade 1 class in Mboole

She put on about 5 words the kids know already! Words will continue
to be added over the school year (if the teacher likes it and is finding it helpful
she might end up moving it somewhere else in the room so it can get more space!?)