I cannot believe I’m now writing about my final week of
placement, initially I dreaded the thought of attempting to communicate with
children that didn’t speak or understand much English, and as for my Danish, I’m
afraid to say that, that peaked at ‘tak’! But much to my surprise I really,
thoroughly enjoyed my time at Åby Skole and am genuinely sad to be leaving the
children I became so accustomed to over the past three weeks.
After our first observational week in Åby Skole; Poppy, Leah
and I had become more aware of the children’s interests and what sort of activities
they thrived best in. After some planning we decided to carry out two separate activities
at the campfire and the other in the 4th grade base.
For our first activity we decided to bring a bit of Ireland to
the children and hopefully educate them about the country we are proud to originate
from! We thought the best way to do this was through some traditional Irish
stew…cooked on a fire! Not completely traditional but it worked very well even if
I do say so myself. It wasn’t as
straightforward as throwing all the ingredients into a pan because we had to bear in
mind the different ethnic backgrounds and nutritional needs that we were working with.
We had to ensure the children were cutting vegetables and meat separately and
that all allergies were taken into consideration.
Apart from this the main idea
in our heads was to promote nature, health and democracy, as after all that was
the backbone of our whole diploma.
We incorporated the nature aspect through
the use of our outdoor surroundings, the health aspect by promoting the
nutritional benefits of the different vegetables and of course the democracy
aspect came naturally to the children as they are well used to the freedom of
choice and they all worked well together as a team. After this activity turned
out so well, the girls and I were chuffed! Despite the language barrier, we
really connected with the children and were even able to have a laugh with them…well
more them laughing at us trying to say potatoes in Danish!
‘Everybody laughs the
same in every language, because laughter is a universal connection.’ - Yakov Smirnoff
On Tuesday night, my classmates and I met up for our weekly
pancake Tuesday. However Poppy, Leah and I came with a motive, to use them for
manual labour and help us draw international flags for our next activity.
The next day we set up the 4th grade base with the
international flags and a giant Ireland flag that they could all sign for me to
take home as a little reminder of my time in Åby Skole.
Again we based our
activity around cooking, as it was something that interested both us and the
children. This time it was sweet treats, traditional Northern
Irish fifteens and scones! The children loved baking and they all got really
involved, they also seemed so comfortable around us and it’s funny but
something so simple had such a great effect, the fact that neither of us could
speak each other’s language was a thing of the past!
‘As soon as children
find something they are interested in, they lose their instability and learn to
concentrate.’ – Maria Montessori
The main aim of this second activity was to encourage
discussion about the children’s home countries, as the girls and I came to
notice that a large number of the children had different ethnic backgrounds. As
well as this we wanted to educate the children more on Ireland, mainly due to
the fact that there weren’t so sure about our country and were eager to learn
more. But our overall aim was to make sure the children had fun, after all it
was our last week and we wanted them to know how much we enjoyed the time we
spent getting to know them and on our placement as a whole.
As Friday came around; Poppy, Leah and I felt a sense of
disheartenment as we made our way to Åby Skole for the last time. It was an
honour to be a part of such a welcoming school for the three short weeks we spent there, I learnt so much and for that I am genuinely grateful.
To finish our day, Niels and the other staff members all met
in the staff room for a final farewell session, with tacos and Irish Coffees,
of course! Niels presented us with a little gift and letter, wishing us all the
best of the future, the girls and I then made our way out of the school gates for
the last time. But one thing’s for sure, if ever I’m in Aarhus again, which of
course I will, I’ll definitely be paying Niels and the children a little visit!
References
Yakov Smirnoff - http://www.picturequotes.com/everybody-laughs-the-same-in-every-language-because-laughter-is-a-universal-connection-quote-122780
Maria Montessori - http://www.picturequotes.com/interests-quotes/17
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