The last two weeks have been about the theme ‘Home, House, Shelter.’ Valeria gathered a great selection of new books that we used to plan the two weeks of work. As always, each ‘Story Time’ began with a loud drum roll from the children so that the “magic suitcase” containing the book of the day would open.
Part of the book selection for the workshops on the week’s theme.
‘Home’ is a book we loved, in which author Carson Ellis uses humor and imagination to show us the possible homes of all kinds of creatures, including her own — the home of an illustrator.
The nonfiction book ‘Your Home Anywhere’ deals with the thousands of different ways of life that exist, from the perspective of the evolution of the house throughout the centuries, from the first caves that offered shelter to people, and the idea that the world is, in a way, home for all of us.
These and other exciting books covered different perspectives on the theme. Given the topic, the questions “How do you live?” and “Who do you live with?” were front and center. As always, at the end of the story, the book was closed with the words: “Colorin Colorado, this story is over.”
During ‘Creativity Time’ this week, a great variety of houses in different shapes and colors were made. For example, a foldable card, houses to glue together, or houses in the form of a homemade stamp.
In addition, decorations for their own homes were designed. The older kids made flowers with pompoms, while the younger ones transformed plastic bottles into decorative toothbrush holders or made and painted a handprint out of salt dough.
The neighbors should also not be forgotten when it comes to the topic of home, and they were addressed through the book ‘Neighbors’ and in a conversation about the fact that life at home is sometimes indirectly shared with people who are not actually direct family members at all. A drawing of a neighborhood was made, in which the children learned a new technique by drawing different houses in 3D.
Laura explaining the afternoon activity.
In the second week, we went deeper into the theme. The focus here was on thinking about feelings and thoughts in relation to reflecting on life at home. The emphasis was not on having to share one’s own thoughts, but rather on processing them internally on one’s own. In the form of a question game, the children asked each other questions like “Who do I trust when I have problems?” / “When do I need time for myself?” / “Where do I go when I need rest?” The books also dealt with deeper topics such as returning to previous homes, places of refuge, or the death of a family member.
Mateo playing at building houses and shelters.
This week, the Peque Búhxs made a cardboard face on which the mood can be changed at will and hung in the room to show their mood. The older Chiquiturris designed a picture with the title “Home — what does that really mean to me and what do I associate with it,” which they then designed in color. In this way, reflection was combined with the crafting aspect. A bracelet was also made as a gift for a good friend or family member.
Yesli and her mother work as a team on the afternoon’s creative task.
For me, a special aspect of these two weeks was that we started the theater and dance project. In the near future, we want to prepare a dance and a play and present them together with a literature project at a small festival in a few weeks for the families of the Chiquiturris. I am responsible for the planning and preparation of the dance and the theater. This week I made my suggestion regarding the song and danced the dance with everyone. I was very happy that everyone had a great time and wanted to dance it again right away. Since then, not a day goes by that we see each other in the afternoon group without dancing the dance. We even danced it spontaneously at a school with a third-grade class, and the children never wanted to stop. My friend spontaneously came up with the dance last year for a talent competition at school, and it is now very well known in our circle of friends, so it is hardly missing from any celebration. I am very happy that it is now also being danced on the other side of the world, in Machalilla. Although the song is in German, it actually fits quite well because it is about the fact that people don’t know how to pronounce certain Italian words. I told the children about the song and said that it is similar to how I pronounce words in Spanish — sometimes I’m not sure how to pronounce certain words either. In addition to my two examples, the children had several more examples, and we laughed a lot.
Practicing the dance in the Casa Búho courtyard.
The play will begin next week. We are also currently planning interesting workshops for the school holidays. I am very excited about the coming weeks in the project.
Once again, we had two beautiful weeks in the project, and when the children say goodbye, the sandwich hug is never far away, where all the children come running at once and hug each other and us very tightly. It’s wonderful to see how much they all care for each other and how much they enjoy visiting the project. I’ve grown very fond of them too.
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