We weren't able to take the kids to the aquarium so I'm going to pay Lorenzo's school fees for one year. I was told it's R280 a month which is $28 which comes out to $555 for the entire year.
I have a great relationship with the teachers in my room so when I've been making suggestions about the classroom they've been open to them. On Kristen's last day they were telling us how we were one of their favorite volunteers because some volunteers have been "snooty" in the past. I was actually really happy to hear that because me and Kristen tried really hard to be open to all of the different things that go on and it was really hard. I don't know if I said this earlier but the kids get hit when they don't listen to the teacher, so me and Kristen tried to make it obvious when we would discipline a child but not hit them. The kids still get hit or pinched but I've noticed that the teachers try to talk in a nicer tone with the children so that's a start. I'm just happy to be having some type of impact.
The Lead Teacher in our room is going to college (which I think is awesome because she's studying early childhood education) so she misses every Wednesday for class. In the past me and Kristen would run the class on Wednesdays because the assistant is very impatient and ends up hitting all the kids. But that was because the kids wouldn't listen because she would sit them in a circle and make them sit there quietly until it was time to eat or go outside. No child can sit still for an extended period of time without fidgeting. I started leading circle time and setting up activities for the kids to do and Kristen would help keep all of the children involved. But today Kristen wasn't there to help so I wasn't sure how it was going to work. But the day ended up going really good! The teacher wasn't feeling it at first but then she started to join in on songs and I tried my best to keep the kids under control so she wouldn't get frustrated. She helped set stuff up and stayed in the classroom most of the day too! I felt so accomplished at the end of the day!
I came here knowing that I wasn't going to be able to have a major impact and change the world, so I'm thankful for what I have been able to do. I'm going to miss this place SO much. Every time I think about leaving I get teary eyed, but I know I have to go home, so I'm just going to have to man up when it's time to go to the airport.
I know have so many more adventures waiting for me when I get home.
