I love books!!!

So… I’ve been teaching at the primary school for three days now. My task of teaching 1 hour of science to a grade 6 class quickly turned into me teaching 2 grade 6 classes combined for the full day, and then finding a way to teach a few science lessons somewhere in between to the grade 3, 4, and 5 classes! T.I.A. (This is Africa)

If you ever want to feel like a celebrity, be white and visit a primary school. On the first day, I naively thought it would be a fun to play with the kids during their lunch break. The minute I stepped foot outside of the classroom, I was swarmed by the entire school – all 250 plus students!!! Most were too shy to talk to me so they just stood close and stared. Those who managed to push close enough were grabbing at my hands and arms to touch my pale skin. By the end of the day, I was so covered in sweat and stickiness I dumped a bucket of cold water all over myself as soon as I got home.

Today – I brought in the box of books to the school. A retiring teacher at my mom’s school donated her entire library of children’s books. I gave each student one of the new books, and had them all write down a question about the book’s subject before they could open it. Then, when reading the book, they had to look for the answer. (intro to research).I have never seen children so excited about information as I did today!!! It made my heart smile. For an hour and a half, they read book after book, excitedly telling me the answers to their questions, and sharing the new things they were finding out about in the books! Turns out Magic School Bus books are now popular here too! The principal and the teacher were right into the action too! At one point I saw two girls with their notebooks, furiously copying down all the notes they could from a book they were reading on the human body. I told them they were not required to take notes, but they told me they wanted to take the information home to remember! It was so cool to see such eagerness about learning!!! I don’t know if it’s just a ‘teacher thing’, but there’s something truly magical when you see someone excited about reading! That hour and a half made my year!