The last month has been wonderful, busy, exciting and exhausting! We have been teaching Monday, Wednesday, Fridays at Mansarovar Academy and visiting the Kailash Home on Friday night and Saturday. Teaching has been great but a lot more work than I ever would have imagined. It takes a lot of prep making a power point and or lesson plan each night, but seeing the students' excited faces when I walk into their classroom makes it all well worth it.
We usually teach four periods per day at Manasarover, in grades 3, 4, and 5. Our classes range from 30 to 42 students. We've been teaching a lot in the new projection room that we established, and the kids are thrilled when we take them down there! It is really exciting for them to learn in new and different ways, such as the powerpoint presentations we often create. We also show them science video clips from BBC Earth and Oceans DVDs, and play outdoor "ecology games" involving predators, prey, and lots of running screaming kids!
On Fridays, after a full day of of teaching, we ride the bus with the students 30 minutes out to the Kailash Home. We are like a portable movie studio, hauling 2 laptops, speakers, projector and cords along with us. We usually play soccer or basketball for awhile with the children, and then the "study bell" rings. My Dad and I do our best to help the students during their study hall time, tutoring them in ecology, accounting, math, science, etc. After a yummy dinner, several students carry a screen (...a white sheet on plywood) onto the basketball/soccer court, and we set up the projector to watch a movie. So far we've watched Spirit, The Sound of Music, The Two Brothers, and Curious George.
Five years ago when my family spent 4 months in Nepal, my mom established a bird watching club at the Kailash Home. She has returned several times since then to continue the program and I wanted to help keep this going. Early Saturday morning, my dad, 12 students, and I wake up before 6am to go bird watching. I've never really been a good birder or had a desire to continually go bird watching, but spending Saturday mornings with such a wonderful group of individuals my age who get excited about birds, really makes me look forward to it! We usually hike 3-5 miles, from 6am until 12 Noon, and keep track of all the birds we see. Several students are really motivated to spot new birds, and they meticulously flip through the guidebooks to make sure their identification is correct.
We return home on Saturday night, or Sunday morning, to relax a bit and prep lessons for Mondays classes. It's been a really worthwhile meaningful summer here in Nepal, and I can't believe it's almost over... There is so much more I still want to do with, and for, these sweet students!
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