After School Clubs

After reading a few of these blog posts, you may or may not have notices that things here have a tendency to move slowly. To say that no one is ever in a rush to get anything done would be an understatement. My arrival was not suddenly going to change that, either. So, although it seems really pathetic, after two and a half terms, I am proud to announce that I now have two after school clubs up and running and meeting on a regular basis. Truthfully, I think this is nothing short of a miracle.

Grade 6 doing keyboarding work in the Computer Lab.

The Computer Club meets on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 2:15 – 3:00pm.  Monday is only for grade 6, Tuesday is only for grade 5, and Wednesday is only for grade 7. Ten kids can come at a time because that is how many computers can be turned on at once. There is something wrong with the wiring or a circuit somewhere so if you turn on more than ten computers the electricity in the whole school shuts off. Unfortunate, I know, but no matter; ten is better than zero, and if I waited until all eighteen could be used at once, this paragraph would never be written.

Grade 5 watching videos on Encarta for Kids.

The club starts off with a little lesson in which I show them a new “skill,” like opening and saving a Word document or moving something to the trash. After they have fiddled around with that for a few minutes, I make them open a program called Rapid Typing (which I got from the Peace Corps) and complete one of the exercises. I’m not trying to turn them into typists, I’m just trying to familiarize them with where the letters are on the keyboard, because seriously, it can take five minutes to type their own name. Once they have finished the exercise, they are free to use the computer however they would like. Most of them watch the short video clips or play the little games that can be found in Encarta for Kids. Occasionally one of them will try to play Solitaire or Pinball or a geography game. Since the computers don’t have access to the internet, this is about as good as it gets; but for kids that can barely maneuver a mouse correctly, it’s a great place to start.

Happily working on a puzzle.

The Games and Puzzles Club meets on Thursdays (also from 2:15-3:00pm) or on Friday during school cleaning time from (12:00-1:00pm) but since we are in the library about 30 students can come to participate, and I always end up letting more in because they seem perfectly happy to sit on the floor. I have big plans for this club in the next couple of months – perhaps not the most realistic plans, but I’m going to give it a try. 

Word search time.

For now, I start things off by giving teams of three kids a word search and the first team that correctly completes it wins a small prize (compliments of my American family and friends). After that, I just let the kids play the games or work on the puzzles that we already have in the library (also generously donated by Americans.) I usually spend some time working with a small group of kids who want to try the Rubik’s Cube. I have one grade 6 boy that can solve the first layer, which I think is amazing. The rest of them just sort of fiddle around with it, but I’m pretending like it is making them think. My hope is that I can eventually have weeks where we make games (the previous volunteer left behind a pretty cool book published by PC Namibia with games that you can make using essentially trash commonly found in rural areas).  Then the kids can take these games home and play them with their families.

Snakes and Ladders is a school favourite.

I also want to have weeks where we work on “projects.” First up is to make an aquarium. This has been started, but as with everything here, isn’t moving as fast as I had hoped. Normal. The kids have colored and cut out pictures of sea life and next we are going to hang them in the frame of an old desk covered with blue paper so it looks like a fish tank. It’s hard to describe, but when it eventually gets done, I’ll post a picture. I also really want to have them make a paper mache solar system to hang from the ceiling of the library. This may be a bit ambitious, but if it happens, you will all be the first to know.

So, that’s my new after school routine. It’s funny because I’m still finished by 3pm, so it doesn’t really feel like I’m staying extra late, but the place is a ghost town when I’m done. Clearly a sign that it will absolutely not continue when I’m gone, but I’ve given up on that. If I only did things that I was sure would continue when I left, I’d do nothing but twiddle my thumbs all day. Not really my style.