The Project July 2011
In June of 2011 with $3,100 raised by St. John's students and outside donors we began the project which can be viewed in the video below. The video is a compilation of various aspects of the project. It begins with a view of the preschool before we began. As can be seen, the school is well kept despite not having a lot of resources. The teacher/principal and assistant are quite interested in maintaining the school clean and organized.and one of the things we noticed right away was a sense of pride and dedication on the part of the teacher, assistant, students and parents.
One of the first things we found was that the classroom which we were going to refurbish was being used by a full-time caretaker and her family. Another classroom, which was being used as the teacher/principal's office and for storage became the focus of the project. Being in much better condition than the original classroom, it became obvious that we would be able to take on other projects not planned. The classroom needed little more than painting and cleaning to get started. That meant that we could start on the cemented in area for presentations/play area for the children.
Once that was begun we began to plan the Learning Corner. Originally we were going to call it a "Library" but as the children are preschoolers and don't read yet, we decided that to create a "Learning Corner" with tables, chairs and a padded area for children to be read to would be a better idea. On a visit to the nearby city of Trujillo we found a shop (in the video) which had quality educational toys made of wood. We also found simple musical instruments (xylophones, bells, tamborines, etc) made of wood. Along with this we bought a number of art supplies and books for students to begin working on their writing skills. The idea was to create stations where the students, with the guidance of the teacher, assistant and parent volunteers, could develop motor and cognitive (problem solving) skills, as well as begin taking steps towards literacy (reading and writing). We also had the idea to buy supplies for the teacher who up until then had been working at a student desk, using a used and worn-out book shelf someone had donated. We bought her a desk, two bookshelves and filled the desk with supplies such as pens, pencils, scissors, blu-tac, paper, tacks and many things she might need.
While we were purchasing these supplies, the classroom was being painted and the cemented in area completed. The young man who was doing the cement work suggested that we pull the weeds which abound on the children's playground and fill the space with gravel. As this area began to become transformed, we realized that the walls behind the cemented area were perfect canvasas for filling with drawings for preschoolers. Two local artists were contacted and came up with a plan--and ended up doing the work for next to nothing, charging only a fraction of what it would cost normally.
As can be seen in the video once everything was together the school had an inauguration ceremony which included typical dances and food from the three regions of Peru: The coast, the mountains and the jungle. As can be seen in the video, the "Learning Corner" was christened and the children and parents got their first look at the new center for learning.
The last frames show the next goal: A play structure. The students have little more to play on than some painted tires, a dangerous merry-go-round which doesn't work (see end of video) and a cement slide.
One of the first things we found was that the classroom which we were going to refurbish was being used by a full-time caretaker and her family. Another classroom, which was being used as the teacher/principal's office and for storage became the focus of the project. Being in much better condition than the original classroom, it became obvious that we would be able to take on other projects not planned. The classroom needed little more than painting and cleaning to get started. That meant that we could start on the cemented in area for presentations/play area for the children.
Once that was begun we began to plan the Learning Corner. Originally we were going to call it a "Library" but as the children are preschoolers and don't read yet, we decided that to create a "Learning Corner" with tables, chairs and a padded area for children to be read to would be a better idea. On a visit to the nearby city of Trujillo we found a shop (in the video) which had quality educational toys made of wood. We also found simple musical instruments (xylophones, bells, tamborines, etc) made of wood. Along with this we bought a number of art supplies and books for students to begin working on their writing skills. The idea was to create stations where the students, with the guidance of the teacher, assistant and parent volunteers, could develop motor and cognitive (problem solving) skills, as well as begin taking steps towards literacy (reading and writing). We also had the idea to buy supplies for the teacher who up until then had been working at a student desk, using a used and worn-out book shelf someone had donated. We bought her a desk, two bookshelves and filled the desk with supplies such as pens, pencils, scissors, blu-tac, paper, tacks and many things she might need.
While we were purchasing these supplies, the classroom was being painted and the cemented in area completed. The young man who was doing the cement work suggested that we pull the weeds which abound on the children's playground and fill the space with gravel. As this area began to become transformed, we realized that the walls behind the cemented area were perfect canvasas for filling with drawings for preschoolers. Two local artists were contacted and came up with a plan--and ended up doing the work for next to nothing, charging only a fraction of what it would cost normally.
As can be seen in the video once everything was together the school had an inauguration ceremony which included typical dances and food from the three regions of Peru: The coast, the mountains and the jungle. As can be seen in the video, the "Learning Corner" was christened and the children and parents got their first look at the new center for learning.
The last frames show the next goal: A play structure. The students have little more to play on than some painted tires, a dangerous merry-go-round which doesn't work (see end of video) and a cement slide.