My Lil' Buddies

Cape Town as a city has a lot to offer, and I've certainly been making the most of my free time. This week, I've seen two plays, the District Six Museum, heard a lecture from the Healing of Memories Project, been to two beaches, had lunch in Guguletu (township), and I saw the penguins at Simon's Town. However, more fun than all the sightseeing and cultural learning activities is my time at Blossom Street Primary School.

I'm working with about seventy kids, and I think I know all their names now!! My first week was spent building rapport with them and getting to know the school and the teachers. For the past two weeks, I've taken them, eight at a time, to do art therapy and feelings group. They are fairly well behaved (if you know about my job at Ryther, then you know what I'm comparing to!!), but still squirmy, impulsive six year-olds. If your voice was a muscle, then would say mine is pulled right now. I think I spend 3/4 of the class on instruction and discipline, and 1/4 on art therapy and feelings...but at least it happens! The discipline in South Africa is very different. It is the norm for teachers to yell when a child is out of line, and more severe behavior earns them a "clap", which is a slap on the shoulder or bum. So, for me to get a response, I have to increase my volume, or they won't think I really mean it. So, I've been tired...

But, the kids are all gems. They can be stinkers occasionally, but they are all very loving and aim to please the teachers. I go out at recess and play with them, and if you ever want to feel like a rock star, you should try blowing bubbles on a Cape Town playground. I've taken to calling them my little starfish, and explaining to them that the nickname comes from the fact that they hang on me with every limb like they are attached with suckers.

The art therapy and feelings group is going well. We started with "happy" just to get the routine going. This week we did "angry", which got some interesting results. Many kids seemed to confuse it with sad, while other kids expressed their anger very well and helped me understand how hectic their lives really can be. Some themes were "angry because my brother hits", "angry because people robbed out house", "angry because a man shot my cousin and now he's dead". Next week we will explore sad, then scared.

Above are photos of the kids with their "ANGRY" faces on.