This past week we had an “Around the World in 5 Days” themed English summer camp at our school with students in 3rd through 5th grade. Each day, we “traveled” to a country on each of the continents (minus Antarctica), learned about the country, and did a craft and/or game inspired by that country. The students had passports that we glued stamps into each day after we “traveled” to the country. We had a lot of fun and a decent turn out, so I’d say it was a success!
On Monday, we traveled to Italy in Europe. We learned about Italy, talking about some of the popular places people like to visit, then created mosaics from paper, inspired by the famous mosaics of the Roman Empire. The students also received their passports for the week and their workbooks. We learned some English vocabulary, such as boot (the shape of Italy), canal, and bridge.
On Tuesday, we traveled to Senegal in Africa. A fellow Peace Corps volunteer, Anne, joined us and taught the students some African drumming and dance, which the students really loved! After, we learned a bit about Senegal and some English vocabulary such as grasslands, savanna, and prehistoric.
On Wednesday, we traveled to two countries: The United States of America in North America and Peru in South America. Some vocabulary we learned included stars, stripes, prairie, rain forest, and guinea pig. We played some classic American children’s games outside, such as Simon Says, Red Light Green Light, and the Hokey Pokey. It was a lot of fun!
On Thursday, we traveled to Thailand in Asia. A fellow volunteer, Alicia, joined us. We learned about Thailand, including some favorite Thai foods and English vocabulary such as spicy and jungle. We did some simple meditation while the students colored mandalas and listened to some meditation music (I’ve never seen them be so quiet!). After, we played a children’s game from Thailand called “Stealing the Leaves”, which was fun!
On Friday, our last day, we learned about Australia. After learned some interesting facts about Australia and looking at a bunch of photos, we made some paintings inspired by Aboriginal Dot Paintings. They turned out quite well! Since it was the last day, we then went outside and played games, including a water balloon toss and fight! At the end of the camp, we handed out diplomas and reflected on the camp.
I think the kids really enjoyed the camp and they learned a lot about some places and countries they didn’t know much about before. They even asked if there would be another camp next week! This was my last official project in Moldova, and the last time I will work with my students. Friday was a bittersweet day because of that, but I bought the two older students that helped a ton throughout the week some ice cream and we sat and talked for a while. These two students are in 6th grade and I only taught them for part of my time here, so I didn’t know either well before the past two weeks. I was so impressed by both of them and the camp wouldn’t have been so successful without their hard work!
The Oke Den 