Service Projects

As you participate in the service projects, identify something you learned during your service week about the Belizean culture that you didn't know and that is important for you to know as a teacher.  As you start to recognize how cultural difference impact education and teaching, you can bring that awareness into your classroom next year.


This week for the service project I have worked on a couple of different things. I helped volunteer at the library's Easter camp and I have started working on making lesson plans for children's book for a summer reading camp ran by volunteers.


On Monday, I helped some of the other interns with the crafts.  We made a stained glass cross made of construction paper, and we made Easter baskets made of paper plates.  I have never made an Easter basket that way and I think its something I could do with possibly some of my students in the future.  We also played an egg race and the kids loved it!  All the kids were so adorable.  Two of my students from Isla Bonita were at the camp so it was nice to see them. 


On Tuesday, we made placemats of slits of paper and colored paper Easter eggs.  The kids here are so creative and most can draw very well.  It is amazing.  There is one girl who can draw the Angry Birds characters perfectly.  I love how excited the kids get over things and how the kids share.  For the placemats we had different colors, and I know if I were to make these with kids at home they would argue over colors if they didn't get the first pick, but here the kids are okay with anything.  If they get to pick a color, they of course pick a color, but if they don't, they are not upset!  It is very interesting how the kids are not that picky here.


The library's Easter camp has made me see something interesting about Belizean culture.  Everything is set out to be fair even in a competitive mindset.  On Wednesday afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt.  Back home for Easter egg hunts all the eggs are "first come first serve".  So some kids may only get 3 eggs while others may get 10 or more.  Here everyone is supposed to get the same amount.  The kids were allowed to get 1 box of treats, 1 sucker, 1 decorated egg, and 1 non-decorated egg on the Easter egg hunt.  So the competition was more on the kids finding the easiest prizes first....and it was more about how quickly the kids found the Easter gifts.  I just thought it was interesting that there was a set number to the hunt.  And it really worked for the kids.  Also, the kids did not shove things in each other's faces.  They didn't try to make one another jealous or anything.  I like the non-competitive aspect.