On Oct. 14th, the Education/TeachUNICEF Committee sent its first team to the Peace Room at the Perry School in D.C. Our members Katie, Daria, and Youna spoke with a group of children at the Peace Room about water and sanitation, helping them understand the importance of water, heightened because of the scarcity of
usable water. Below are reflections from Youna and Daria, along with photos of the session. (Thank you MJ for sharing these pictures with us!)
Youna:It was a great opportunity to visit the Peace Room. I had a great time! The main part we focused on during TeachUNICEF was the water issue. We started with an activity of constructing the first part of the water map (Earth is the Blue Planet) together. We asked questions and helped them come up with answers, and gave them pieces of drawings and words to paste on the blue sheet. Together, we were able to construct the map and again emphasized the importance of water. After, they drew pictures of how they use water, and we finished with watching a Sesame Street video about water. Constructing the map together was great because the children were interested in pasting the pictures and actively participated. Also, by asking questions about water repetitively, we were able to help the children understand the importance of water.
Daria:I had such a great experience with the kids! I really hope I can participate in TeachUNICEF more often...I'd really like to go as often as trips can be planned to the elementary schools.
Mrs. MJ (the teacher) was so welcoming. We arrived in the "peace room" and there were four other volunteers from George Washington University who come weekly to spend time with the kids.
We sat down with three children, two girls and one boy, all of whom had big and fun personalities. They seemed excited that we came. Mostly Katie took over the actual lesson (for Youna and I it was our first time "teaching" so we got a good idea of how to approach the lesson watching Katie). I think the kids took to the concept map the most, they were all very excited about participating in creating the concept map with us. They learned most of the concepts we introduced that day including the idea of the "Blue Planet", how precious water is and why we need to do our best to conserve it. We started talking about other kids around the world who don't have the same access to water and why it's important to appreciate the easy and clean access that we have here. They seemed to respond quite well to that message. Overall, it was a great experience. I think we all bonded and everyone (Mrs. MJ, the other volunteers, Katie, Youna and myself) was happy with the children's quick response and attentiveness.
We sat briefly with Mrs. MJ at the end to discuss how the session went, she seemed pleased and surprised by how calm the kids were (usually she said they are much more agitated).
The experience taught me to be more assertive while talking to the kids in order to make them listen to the lesson; they seem to respond to confidence. Katie did a great job of communicating the main themes of the lesson, and I think the kids appreciated her engagement. Showing the video at the end was a good idea! Mrs. MJ brought out snacks for them as well, it seemed like a good "reward" after having absorbed the lessons of the day.
On Oct. 27th, interim committee chair Lotus made a second TeachUNICEF visit to the Peace Room, and this time, while the topic was still water and sanitation, the focus was more on the states of water and the water cycle. She emphasized again the importance and scarcity of usable water and worked with the children - a bigger group this time - to complete a "Y" chart with sections for describing what water looks like, tastes like, and feels like. The students came up with some very creative and descriptive answers! Lotus and the children made another concept map showing the different states and sources of water. She and MJ, the lady who manages the Peace Room, reminded everyone in the Peace Room to use only the amount of water he or she needs - don't waste water! Lotus would like to give a big "thank you" to the children, MJ, and the volunteers from the George Washington University and University of Maryland for making this session such a fun-filled learning/teaching experience! Below are some photos from the session. (Thank you Pam and Lauren for taking these pictures!)
Best,
UNICEF-Georgetown
