Last week, I was assigned to do crafts and activities for Schools in the Philippines. I showed the kids a PowerPoint presentation about the school system in the Philippines. It was an interactive discussion where students also shared their answers and opinions. They were actively engaged and were curious about how the school system of the Philippines differs from that of Japan. I was happy that everyone listened attentively and I was actually surprised that they focused on my presentation. They also had relevant and interesting questions about my school life.

I had help from other teachers to make sure all students understood the meaning of some difficult words and if there were things needed to be translated for better comprehension.

For the craft, I asked them to make a school tree and Philippine Jeep – a public transportation in the Philippines. I pre-made the school tree trunk with the help of other kids from the previous week. For the leaves, the students traced their hands on colored paper, cut the trace, and wrote their names inside. Some kids chose to decorate it with colorful markers and stickers. The Philippine Jeep was something new for the students. I already made and cut the template of the jeep to save time. The kids’ tasks were to color and to assemble the jeep. When done, they brought them home. There was a kid who forgot to bring his jeep. His mom came back to get it. I was touched with the gesture because it shows how the child values the craft we made together.

I made a CRAFT TIME ENGLISH corner where kids can easily see simple and short dialogs for doing crafts. I used the materials that were already prepared by another teacher and cut them before posting them on the wall. I made sure the dialogs can be seen where students will use them.

It was indeed fun to make crafts with our children at Yume Kirara School.