Thought for the day: We must reach out in new direction in order to change and grow.
By Judy
It was a very busy day at Reymontowka brimming with action from beginning to end. The weather was perfect with plenty of sunshine and no wind.
In the morning a delicious breakfast of pancakes filled with “jam truskawkowa” and dollops of whipped cream spurred a lively discussion of teaching ideas and strategies for the day’s sessions. Classes went well with the campers seeming better rested than yesterday and more engaged in the lessons.
During the first two hours Marge led her group through a fun and challenging directions guide. Jean guided his class through the steps of menu planning and ingredient shopping within a hypothetical $40 budget for which some students received change and made interesting choices. Zack’s and Pete’s kids went through a definition worksheet, played Scrabble and showed photos of Pete’s Cook Islands service program. Kasia and Caroline focused on teaching action verbs using pictures and lots of out loud practice. They also pronounced phrases like “stand up,” “sit down” and “catch me” before playing some games.
Megan’s sessions included a potpourri of games such as Hot Potato, UNO and Simon Says with Megan writing down the phrase in English and the children teaching her the phrase in Polish. Jane’s class covered categories from feelings to school supplies. Examples shared on the feeling of anger were a computer crashing and gossip. Judy’s and Ryan’s eleven-year-olds also went shopping and learned about American coins and paper bills. They incorporated their study of weather words into their dialogue with the rotating shopkeeper sometimes using an umbrella if they pretended it was raining.
The last two hours were spent learning good ‘ol American baseball with manager Jean (John) or making colorful friendship bracelets coordinated by Megan.
The prelude to dinner of chicken soup, pork balls and potatoes was Chopin played on the piano without sheet music by young camper Casper. The afternoon provided a small window of opportunity to prepare Power Point presentations of our home states.
Supper was served an hour early so some of us could attend the 17th annual festival of songs, dance and folklore in Siedlce. Dorota met us outside the ampitheater and we were seated in the front row next to the mayor. To our surprise, we were introduced to the large audience by the Director of Culture and were asked to stand when he thanked Global Volunteers for its longstanding friendship with the community amid resounding applause. The dancing was extraordinary and the folk costumes were stunning.
Especially meaningful was the song “Moje Siedlce” sung by an accordionist from the city. The audience joined him in the Polish lyrics that state “My Siedlce, my soil, my streets, my squares, all of this because I was born here.” While we were not born in Siedlce or even in Polska, we are grateful for the hospitality of our host, the expertise of our country manager and the willingness of the citizens to share their children and community spirit with us.
Yes, Thursday was a great day from beginning to end.
Reymontowka, hej, hej! (Campers’ cheer.)
It was a very busy day at Reymontowka brimming with action from beginning to end. The weather was perfect with plenty of sunshine and no wind.
In the morning a delicious breakfast of pancakes filled with “jam truskawkowa” and dollops of whipped cream spurred a lively discussion of teaching ideas and strategies for the day’s sessions. Classes went well with the campers seeming better rested than yesterday and more engaged in the lessons.
During the first two hours Marge led her group through a fun and challenging directions guide. Jean guided his class through the steps of menu planning and ingredient shopping within a hypothetical $40 budget for which some students received change and made interesting choices. Zack’s and Pete’s kids went through a definition worksheet, played Scrabble and showed photos of Pete’s Cook Islands service program. Kasia and Caroline focused on teaching action verbs using pictures and lots of out loud practice. They also pronounced phrases like “stand up,” “sit down” and “catch me” before playing some games.
Megan’s sessions included a potpourri of games such as Hot Potato, UNO and Simon Says with Megan writing down the phrase in English and the children teaching her the phrase in Polish. Jane’s class covered categories from feelings to school supplies. Examples shared on the feeling of anger were a computer crashing and gossip. Judy’s and Ryan’s eleven-year-olds also went shopping and learned about American coins and paper bills. They incorporated their study of weather words into their dialogue with the rotating shopkeeper sometimes using an umbrella if they pretended it was raining.
The last two hours were spent learning good ‘ol American baseball with manager Jean (John) or making colorful friendship bracelets coordinated by Megan.
The prelude to dinner of chicken soup, pork balls and potatoes was Chopin played on the piano without sheet music by young camper Casper. The afternoon provided a small window of opportunity to prepare Power Point presentations of our home states.
Supper was served an hour early so some of us could attend the 17th annual festival of songs, dance and folklore in Siedlce. Dorota met us outside the ampitheater and we were seated in the front row next to the mayor. To our surprise, we were introduced to the large audience by the Director of Culture and were asked to stand when he thanked Global Volunteers for its longstanding friendship with the community amid resounding applause. The dancing was extraordinary and the folk costumes were stunning.
Especially meaningful was the song “Moje Siedlce” sung by an accordionist from the city. The audience joined him in the Polish lyrics that state “My Siedlce, my soil, my streets, my squares, all of this because I was born here.” While we were not born in Siedlce or even in Polska, we are grateful for the hospitality of our host, the expertise of our country manager and the willingness of the citizens to share their children and community spirit with us.
Yes, Thursday was a great day from beginning to end.
Reymontowka, hej, hej! (Campers’ cheer.)
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