First Day

Today was the first day of our placements. Emily, Paul, and I are at Mary Harding, a special ed school. We didn't know what to expect as far as the cognitive level of the children. We ended up doing three art classes, which was great! Normally we would do four, but apparently there was some sort of an assembly. It was a long day. The facility is amazing. These children have a pool, massages, and art available to them, among other things.

I guess the thing that surprised me the most (and it shouldn't have) was how little English most of these children spoke. Because they are developmentally delayed, most speak their mother tongue or the language of the schools, which is Afrikaans (dutch-based). Very few speak IsiXhosa (local original click language). The kids have a large range of cognitive abilities and range from medium functioning or learning disabled (dyslexic, etc.) to low functioning (downs syndrome, MR). They are ALL cute and full of energy and so excited that we are there to work with them!

For the most part they were very respectful to us, and although the teacher's word was final, they mostly listened to our directions. Today we worked on drawings, mainly as an introduction project and to see the children's functioning and imaginations! We saw everything from abstract images to soccer players and cars. The younger children seem much more open to drawing expressively, understandably. I found myself paying special attention to those in more need of attention. I also noticed how touchy-feely the children are. Nurturance is a key issue.

Hopefully soon I can provide an image of the area, and maybe the kids or their work. Tomorrow should be exciting. We have to make our plans now.

We also had our first language lessons today. Those learning Xhosa are going about clicking. I am learning Afrikaans, which is dutch based and pretty easy. I hope to be able to communicate with some of the children by next week (at least some simple phrases). That's it for today!


-K