Friday morning we had the opportunity to bring our teaching to a preschool class. In semester four we divided into three groups, and each developed a learning plan. The three topics chosen were Road Safety, Dental Care, and Hand Hygiene/ Food Safety. We also brought lots of supplies to help us interact with the kids. We all set up our stations and every group adapted their learning plans to suit the age of the participants and the area we were given to use. To begin the morning, the day care staff had the little children sit cross legged in a neat and tidy row and go through a series of movements ‘to centre themselves’. Each group then took 4-5 kids and started their teaching.
Our teaching plans were all geared towards 6 to 12 year olds, but we all adapted to suit this age level. My group started out by introducing the children to hand washing using the translators, hand gestures, and laminated germs and pictures. We then taught them a hand washing song, helped them wash their hands and brought them back to the main room to colour pictures of germs and connect with them in any way we could. The Mouth care group used pictures and interpreters to show the children how to correctly brush their teeth and what foods were appropriate for healthy teeth. Each child was then given a toothbrush and helped through the steps of brushing correctly in front of a mirror. The Road Safety group taught the children how STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN using role play and interpreters. They also used a hand painted road and a toy car and town set to demonstrate the concept. The children mostly just ran over the toy people with their toy cars. We all connected with the children and enjoyed the time we got to spend with them!
As a class we were impressed with how well behaved and well mannered these Thai children were. They listened to every instruction and stayed as focused as four year olds can on what we had to share with them. They made us look really good
-Vanessa
