Hip with the Kids: Fun in the English Classroom

As Program Directors, one of our main responsibilities is to teach English. At the Manna Centro in Ecuador, we offer English classes from the most basic level for kids all the way to advanced conversational classes for adults. For many of us, this is our first experience teaching, and I for one am loving it!

I'm "Profe," "Teacher" and "Señorita" to 18 adorable kids ranging in age from 5 to 10 years old. We meet for 90 minutes twice a week, and our classroom is an equal exchange learning environment. They're forgiving of my developing Spanish and get crazy excited when they know random words in English that weren't on the lesson plan.

Above all, my kids are always excited to come to class and are extremely energetic! Their preferred method of learning, of course, is through games and interactive activities. This is great fun for me as well, so I thought I would share some of my class' favorites.

Rojo, Verde, Amarillo (Red Light, Green Light)
Have the kids all line up and instruct them to run forward on green/verde, stop on red/rojo, and dance on yellow/amarillo. Do the first round in Spanish and then the rest in English so they learn the colors. But make sure to play this on a big open space, because they sure do love to run!

Rojo, Verde, Amarillo (Red Light, Green Light) in Ecuador

New blog from Ecuador | Hip with the Kids: Fun in the English Classroom http://www.mannaproject.org/ecuadorblog/fun-in-english

Posted by Manna Project International on Friday, October 9, 2015

Matamoscas (Flyswatter)
This is a great activity for reviewing vocabulary words. The kids especially enjoy the competition! Have them form two teams and let them pick their group's name. Have vocabulary words written out on the board. Have one person from each team come up, one at a time, and say one of the words in Spanish and have them slap the correct translation with a flyswatter. Whoever slaps first earns their team a point!

Beanie Baby Drop
The kids go crazy over this one! It is ideal for learning colors and numbers. Have a bucket of Beanie Babies (or stuffed animals or other small toys) at the ready. Have kids form a circle and drop a handful of the Beanie Babies on the floor. The kids have to count the quantity dropped in English and also identify the colors of each animal. Then, add to or subtract from the pile. They get really into it and also love to pick them up for you at the end.

Songs!
My kids love to sing. We learned the alphabet by singing the song about 5 times in a row one class because they just didn't want to stop. This is great not only for participation, but you can slow down the song to work on pronunciation and then speed it up later on. Another classroom musical hit is the classic, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." Follow that with a couple rounds of Simon Says, and you've got body parts covered.

My kids also love to suggest their own games to me, and we love to play them as well! I try to have one each class so that they're engaged and having fun.

Do you have a favorite game you play in class? Let us know!

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Life on an Ecuadorian Family Farm

Last weekend, the Manna Project Ecuador team went on its first quarterly retreat. We definitely set a high bar for the rest of our retreats! MPI Ecuador's Country Director Nancy invited us to the farm operated by her husband's parents, Alfonso and Carmen. The farm is located near her former Peace Corps site in La Orense, nestled in the lush green cloud forest. Being in the cloud forest was a welcome change from the dry season that we are currently experiencing in Sangolqui. Heading down the mountains from Quito into the cloud forest, we could feel the air growing cleaner and more tropical, and the scenery quickly changed to lush and tropical trees and grasses.

Program Director Alex Saal tries her hand at milking a cow

Over three days we had the opportunity to experience a new part of Ecuador that many of us had never seen before, and experience a new way of life. We learned how to milk cows and got to participate in daily farm chores. The family taught us how to make some of the most delicious empanadas I've ever tasted, filled with cheese from the same cows that we got to milk! After eating one too many empanadas for breakfast, we hiked around the farm and herded cattle back to their pasture before hiking down to the river. That afternoon, we swam and bathed in another part of the Mulaute River... definitely a highlight of the trip!

Program Director Everett herding some cattle

The retreat was amazing, and we were sad to have to head back to Sangolqui after such an exciting yet relaxing few days. Beyond just being a wonderful trip into the cloud forest, the retreat was a breath of fresh air after working hard through the transition of leadership and the start of programs with new Program Directors. What was an amazing and eye-opening cultural experience to get to spend time in on Ecuadorian farm and see an entirely different side of the Ecuadorian experience.

Mmm...empanadas!

 Mil gracias to Nancy, her husband Enrique, their kids Sofie and Ronnie, and their entire family for the wonderful hospitality!!

The team with Alfonso and Carmen

Summer Camp and Cotopaxi

Saludos from Ecuador! This week, we celebrate one month in this country with Manna Project. And what an action-packed last few weeks it has been.

We’ve just finished the transition period between this past year’s Program Directors and our new group. It’s been great sharing time with them as we learned the ins and outs of how to get around, what to do, where to go, and how our life with Manna Project will be this coming year. 

In true Ecuadorian bienvenida/despedida fashion, our friendly volcanic neighbor Cotopaxi reminded us of its presence by erupting! As this is an exciting yet potentially dangerous event, we are safe and sound in Sangolqui, and only had a few days of light ash fall. We have taken the necessary safety precautions and are prepared for any future incidents. Friends and family, fret not - all is well and should any future eruptions occur, we will certainly be in touch.

In other news, our summer camp is in full swing! We’ve opened the library each morning from 9:00 to 12:00 and have prepared activities for the kids ranging from cooking lessons and soccer to art and dance! We even took a field trip to the Yaku Water Museum in Quito, and spent a morning relaxing by the pool in the valley. 

Before our own camp began, we spent a week volunteering at a summer camp run by the local municipality of Ruminahui. This provided us an opportunity to meet and connect with students in the community from the university we partner with, la Universidad Escuela Politécnica del Ejercito (ESPE), as well as get our name out more with the many kids who attended that camp session. 

We’re currently in the process of having program meetings with each other and our country director, Nancy! We’re setting goals and objectives for each of the programs we run at the library, as well as the organizational roles we are each in charge of throughout the year. While our Manna-specific clubs are up and running (Library, Environmental Club, Art Club, Teen Center, Kid’s and Adult  Nutrition, Diabetes Club, Preventative Health Club), we are eagerly awaiting the back-to-school season to begin a new year working with our partner organizations! These include collaborating with students from ESPE, the United Nations Peacekeepers, the local AM radio station, and the neighborhood preschool and elementary school. 

Most anticipated of all are our English classes, which begin on September 8th. Our inscriptions day was a huge success, as community members completely filled every spot for each level of English (levels basic through advanced) for both kids and adults. 

We’re all so excited to share our journey with you, and will continue to keep everyone updated on our progress, activities, and life with Manna Project in Ecuador!

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SALUDOS! IT'S TRANSITION TIME IN ECUADOR

Saludos de Ecuador! Our team of Program Directors arrived in-country on July 18, and it’s been a whirlwind ever since! We spent the first week exploring Ecuador’s capital city, Quito, with the help of our homestay familias and the Guayasamín Spanish school. We learned how to dance salsa, viewed Quito from 13,000 feet at the Teleférico, and got to know our new host city. 

Week two brought us to the Valle de los Chillos, where our year with Manna Project was kicked off with a bienvenida/despedida (welcome/farewell) party at Manna Project’s Centro. It seemed like the entire community came out to say goodbye to last year’s Program Directors and to meet the new team! 

The party was a great beginning to a productive week. We spent time getting to know our new neighbors, hosted a community meeting, held a fun and successful game night for kids in the community, and decided which programs we’ll be taking on this year. 

On Saturday evening, a community member invited us to his traditional Ecuadorian music and dance concert at the Casa de la Cultura in Quito, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. This week, the transition begins in earnest as the past year’s Program Directors depart for home. And so it begins!

by Kristin Sorenson, Ecuador Program Director

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VAMOS AL JARDIN BOTANICO

Last Saturday, a group of 27 children, three interns, and two program directors boarded a bus and rode to Quito to visit the Botanical Garden in Parque Carolina (the central park of Quito). This marked Manna’s first official “paseo” (field trip) and it was an overwhelming success! As the bus descended the hill that leads into Quito, cries of excitement among the children rung out upon spotting well-known landmarks of Quito such as the Panicillo, the Basilica, or even just a large building. The children’s excitement was infectious and even the volunteers began to get giddy as the bus neared Parque Carolina.

Upon arriving at the garden, the workers wasted no time and led us to a theater to watch an informational video about frogs and their habitat in the Amazon. After, the kids were divided into two groups and began a guided walking tour of the grounds. The garden was gorgeous and contained plants from all ecological regions of Ecuador. Unsurprisingly, the kids were most excited to see the carnivorous plants and koi ponds, but their interest in the whole tour was truly amazing. Some children were as young as six years old and stayed attentive during the entire tour, which lasted about an hour.

After leaving the garden, everyone was very hungry so a lunch of cevichocho (a traditional Ecuadorian street food containing plantain chips, beans, toasted corn, tomatoes, onion, lime, and pork rinds) and jugo de coco (coconut juice) was served to all. With fully bellies, the kids were given time to play in the park before hopping back on the bus to Sangolquí. Such a successful trip certainly calls for more adventures with the kids!

-- Sydney McKenney

*Manna Project International * Program Director * sydney.mckenney@mannaproject.org *