Sunflower Project Update 5

On the 27th of October, we were planning to spend 1 hour in the swimming pool teaching the children how to swim, but due to the unfavorable conditions and thundering, we changed the plan and spent the time in the IT lab.

Since the thundering wasn’t all that severe, we were waiting by the pool for  a few minutes for the clouds to pass, but because the thundering continued, Avin and I changed the plan and decided to spend time in the IT lab. We showed our  initiative in leading this service project. 

In the IT lab, we got them to practice their typing skills with a software called Tux Typing. Since there were only 9 children today and we had 5 students, we each looked after 2 children. Since language was an issue for me, I collaborated with Ravin and Avin and they helped me to translate into Sinhalese. Although it was a challenge and a frustrating process due to language barrier, I showed my perseverance and commitment by trying to teach them about typing to the best of my ability without giving up. We didn’t simply let them play the games and activities, but we also thought them about the finger positions on the keyboard, which letter should be pressed by which letter and so on, so that they can learn the fundamentals to typing.

The plan for next week is to spend 1 hour in the swimming pool to teach them swimming.

Sunflower Project Update 4

On the 29th of September, we were planning to take the children to the yellow lab and introduce them to computer and typing basics, but because they arrived at school around 3:10 p.m, we were unable to take them to the computer lab, and thus spent time until 3:50 p.m in the swimming pool, teaching them the fundamentals of swimming.

Initially, the plan for the 6th of October was to spend 1 hour in the swimming pool, but since the children were unable to learn the computer basics and typing fundamentals last week, we changed the plan, and spent about 20 minutes in the yellow lab, and the rest in the swimming pool.

In the yellow lab, we got the children to log into an account, and we used a typing software called Tux Typing to teach them the fundamentals to typing. Things that we taught them through the software were:

• using the correct fingers to type each letter
• positions of each letter on the keyboard through simple typing games

Many of them were new to computer, and they seemed to enjoy it a lot.

After about 20 minutes, we went to the swimming pool and continued with the swimming. The main skills we focused were:

• kicking
• swimming across the pool

The children are now getting used to swimming, and I can clearly see that everybody has improved compared to the beginning. I’m hoping that this trend continues, and by the end, everybody can swim without our support.

In terms of the CAS criteria, I feel that most of the things are being covered from this service project. First of all, since we’re now bringing technology lessons too, it requires more planning, talking to Ms. Shameela regarding the booking of the labs etc, and I believe that Avin and I are always on top of that. Teaching them about computers are also a challenge that we haven’t experienced before. This is an area that we can improve on as we spend more time with them. Additionally, teaching them about technology is an issue of global importance, as the world is entering the age where almost everything is digitalized, and the acquiring the knowledge of computers is very essential for future. Although our members are only 5, we have a good collaboration and communication, thus enhancing the time management effectively. The attendance is excellent and everybody is attending every week. There is a perseverance and commitment within our members.

The next time we meet will be on the 27th, and we’ll be spending 1 hour in the pool. We’re hoping to teach them the free-style stroke, as we think that they now have the ability to swim, despite only short distances.

Sunflower Project Update 3

On Thursday the 15th of September, the children were again unable to come because their school haven’t received the permissions from the parents etc.

On Thursday the 22nd of September, the children came for the first time. For the first 15 minutes, we all gathered in Ms. Abeyawardene, took down everybody’s name, introduced ourselves and introduced the purpose of this project and what we hope to do in each session (11 children came).

We then went to the pool and started the first teaching session. As the majority have never been in the water, they were scared at first, but after sometime, we managed to get everybody in the pool.

The things we did were:

• Walking from one side to the other
• Putting the face and head in the water for 5 seconds or longer
• Making bubbles in the water
• Kicking etc.

As this was the first session, many children found very difficult to swim, however, the simples things, such as walking, weren’t a problem. For the last 10 minutes, we split the group into 2 teams and played water-polo, as we always did in the past.

Since I’ve done this project last year, it wasn’t a difficult task for me, but as a vice-leader, I made sure that everybody knows what they should be doing. Since we only have 5 students while there are 11 children, we planned and collaborated well by looking after 2 children at a time. I showed my perseverance and commitment by repeatedly helping the children to swim and give advice, despite the language barriers.

Since knowing the fundamentals to swimming is important for safety, and is something that everybody in the world should learn (since it can be life-risking if one doesn’t know how to swim). I hope that by the end of this semester, these 11 new children will be able to learn and swim properly without our support.

Next week, we’ll spend about 20-30 minutes in the Yellow Lab to teach them the basics of computers, which is a new implementation this semester, and then go to swimming. Avin and I will make sure that the lab booking is done (the dates when we want the computer lab  have been sent to Ms. Shameela) and the account is made specifically for this project.

Sunflower Project Update 2

Today, the children were unable to come due to some issues and therefore after taking the attendance, we went to the library to work on our CAS blogs or on other work.

When the children come next week, we’ll be following the schedule that we’ve planned, which is mentioned in the previous post.

Sunflower Project Update 1

On the 1st of September, we had our first meeting with the students participating in this service project (5 students including myself) and with Ms. Abeyawardene. We discussed about the aim of this project and what we hope to achieve (goals) by the end of this semester.

As next week will be the first time the children are coming, we have decided to spend the first 20-30 minutes introducing ourselves, getting them to remember our names and getting their names down, and afterwards, go to the swimming pool and start teaching them the swimming skills. As most of them will be new to getting into the water, we might do simple exercises, such walking in the water, sinking for a few seconds and so on.

As of this year, we’re also going to teach the children the fundamental IT skills. Therefore we’ve decided that for the following days, we will spend the first 20 minutes in the IT lab to teach them the typing skills and so on:

15th of September

29th of September

27th of October

17th of November

1st of December

The IT classes will take place in the yellow lab from 2:40 p.m to 3:00 p.m.

Sunflower Project

The Sunflower project will be starting on the 1st of September. We are expecting about 12 children between age 8-18, who are unable to swim, to come.

The purpose of this community service project is to teach the children from the local school how to swim. This has been the convention in this project, but this year, Avin and I have decided to twist the routine and add some computer lessons into it as well.

As the project starts from 2:40 pm to 4:00 pm, the plan is to teach the children the basics of manipulating computers until 3:00 pm, then go to the swimming pool and teach them the fundamentals of swimming for 40 minutes, and the rest to play water-polo or some other activities. By adding the computer lessons, we believe that it will make this service more meaningful, and allow us to widen the opportunities to interact with them. For computer lessons, we are planning to teach them the fundamentals of typing first.

The general aims in this community service are:

1. To teach the children the fundamental swimming skills with the assistance of Mr. Stanley
2.  To ensure that by the end of the year, everybody is capable of helping themselves in the pool without our assistance

My goals in this community service are:

1. To undertake the challenge of teaching non-swimmers how to swim
2. To undertake the challenge of teaching children who are not familiar with computers
3. To plan and initiate activities and work collaboratively with Avin (the leader), Ms. Abeyawardene and Ms. Bertus (supervisors) for each session
4. To show perseverance and commitment in this project by attending sessions every week and ensuring that others are attending each session as well
5. To realize the significant and the implication of the activity on the children
6. To develop a skill to teach non-swimmers how to swim
7. To interact with the children and get to know them well, despite the language barrier

As I’ve taken part in Sunflower project in the 1st semester of last year, I’m already familiar with the routine, and I hope that as a vice-leader, I’ll be able to initiate this project smoothly without facing big issues.

An update on Sunflower Project

Since the next week’s Community Service got cancelled, this was actually the last meeting this semester.

Since today was the last day, we mostly spent the training time letting the children swim the width of the pool back and forth, using either free-style or just kicking. We clearly observed that they’ve improved a lot since the beginning of this year. Now most of them have gained the fundamentals of swimming and it’s just a matter of practicing and gaining more experience.

For the last half an hour, we played Water-Polo as usual. We had a lot of fun, especially because this was the last meeting this semester. If the Art Room Community Service doesn’t become official, I’m more than willing to do this Sunflower Project again next semester, if other community service projects are all full.

An update on Sunflower Project

Last week, the same group of children came and as usual, we taught them the fundamentals of swimming. It is coming close towards the end of this semester and it is now a lot more clear that many of them have really improved compared to where they started about 3 months ago.

Today, we mainly told them to swim the width of the pool back and forth so that they get used to swimming a long length without stopping. While letting them swim, we also observed the things they were doing wrong and each time, we gave them advice on how to swim properly and ways in which those problems can be fixed. After about half an hour of training, we played Water Polo. There were several children who wanted to continue swimming without playing Water Polo, therefore we also organized some races, where they had to swim a width and the first person to reach the other end was the winner.

Since this Community Service Project is coming close to the end (for this semester), I’d like to reflect on some of the goals which I’ve set at the beginning of this year, and also the criteria which I’ve achieved from doing this Sun Flower Project.

One of the goals was to teach them swimming and the other goal was to get to know and become friends with the children. The first goal is already achieved, as I always teach children swimming every time they visit us. The second goal was not something very easy to achieve, especially because of the language barrier. Most of them can only speak little English or not at all and at first, it was very difficult to get to know them and become friends. However, as time passed, I got to know their names and I often called their names to gain some attention, when teaching and when playing Water Polo. After about 3 or 4 times, this goal was achieved and I made number of friends. Playing time was the best time to get to know many more and I tried to communicate with them frequently so that we can become friends. Now I have more than 5 friends and they call me “Teru”! It’s certainly a lot more enjoyable to teach and play, when we know each other’s names and know each other!

The criteria which I’ve achieved from this Community Service are;

• Undertaken new challenge
• Plan and initiate activities
• Work collaboratively with others
• Show perseverance and commitment in the activities
• Increase the awareness of own strengths and areas for growth
• Develop a new skill

Although this Sun Flower Project wasn’t the first time I’ve done it, the new challenge in this was that we were planning and initiating the activity. From this, I’ve achieved the first two criteria listed above. However, this wasn’t something which I could achieve, if not for collaborating with others. Every time, we got together for a few minutes and discussed what we were going to do etc, and this collaboration was very helpful in organizing the plan and how we were going to use the time effectively. I’ve also achieved the 4th criterion, which is to show perseverance and commitment in the activity. Despite the language barrier, I’ve shown my perseverance and somehow communicated with the children, sometimes using body language and sometimes asking other Sri Lankans from our school to translate. I’ve also shown my commitment in teaching the children how to swim by attending the activity every week with some planning on what to teach. Like managing the scoreboard and teaching badminton, I felt that teaching people how to swim is one of the areas for growth and as I gain more experience, it will certainly become my strength. Lastly, I believe that I developed the skill of teaching non-swimmers how to swim. At first, this didn’t go smoothly but now I know what to start off with, how to teach the children to swim properly etc and I feel that I’ve increased an expertise in this area.

There are 2 more weeks left until the end of this semester and I hope to have enjoyable time with the children and teach them more about swimming.

An update on Sunflower Project

Yesterday, the same group of children came to learn swimming. It’s been a while since they’ve come to learn (because of a week holiday, heavy rain the next week etc), so we’ve first told them to put their faces under the water and blow bubbles for 10 seconds, so that they’ll get used to the water.

After that, we’ve told them to swim to the 2nd line and we’ve observed each of them, gave some advice so that they can swim better and we showed some demonstrations as well, so that they can see what they’re doing right and what they’re doing wrong.

Towards the end, we’ve taught the arm movements for the free-style. At the moment, all they’re doing is just practice the arm movements while standing so that they get used to the movements, but from next week onwards, we’ll start teaching them how to do free-style with legs.

For the last 20 minutes or so, we’ve played water-polo and had some enjoyment. This is the time where everybody could get to know each other. I’ve already made several friends from teaching and playing water-polo and it is really enjoyable to teach them and play with them, despite the communication difficulties.

Most of the children are showing some improvements (some have made a big improvement but some haven’t made much of an improvement). However, by December, I’m certain that all of them will be able to swim one width of the pool, which is about 10 meters long. We still have several weeks before the end of semester 1, therefore we’ll come up with plans so that we can use the time efficiently and do some productive work so that they can improve in their swimming.

An update on Sun Flower Project

Last week Thursday, a group of students from a local school came for the first time. In order to maximize the time we can spend teaching them how to swim, we’ve come up with a plan in advance regarding what to do.

At first, we introduced ourselves and we asked the kids to write down their names. After that, we split them into two groups; those who can already swim a little and those who are absolute beginners. Jacov and Ravin were in charge of looking after those kids who can swim already and Avin, Yariq and I taught those kids who are beginners.

Since this was the first time the kids got into the pool, we taught them very basic things, such as kicking, sinking in the water for a few seconds etc with the help of Mr. Stanley.

For the last 20 minutes or so, we got some water polo balls and played with them. As the kids get more comfortable with swimming in the pool, we’ll also teach them how to play water polo and get to know each other well.