A great start of the new work week.
After greeting the headmistress, we got to work in grade 1. We were surprised by the degree of organisation in a class of almost 70 pupils. At the start of the day they all sat together, but we split them up for the maths lesson. Some of the pupils worked on units and tens, which we eventually turned into a game.
Music is an important part of daily life in the Gambia, and at school singing is used as a short break. We joined in with much pleasure when the class sang “If you’re happy and you know it” and taught the children a few new stanzas.
The grade 1 pupils also enjoyed the Miffy story. It was a nice, grateful group with a fantastic teacher.
After the break we tried to bring a bit of structure to Liman’s class. We put satchels on pegs, arranged the pencils, hung stories on the walls, and handed out notebooks.
The preschoolers were wild today. Mister Lamin didn’t bring a lot of rest to the very lively class. We got the kids to quiet down with a short physical activity. Phew! Time to hand out the newly bought notebooks. We had prepared these by writing down preparatory writing exercises. The kids were very enthusiastic about having their own notebook and writing pencil. They worked with a lot of passion and concentration.
After school we discussed some practical issues: class layout, uniforms, and the planning for the other classes over the next few days.
See you tomorrow!
