July and eating the houses
- oda.org
- 11 minutes ago
- 6 min read
WE ATE A HOUSE
In fact we ate 5!
And many more volunteer ripples from
Suzanne and Stephen
read on...
Village – houses – walls – roof – door – windows
The ODA Central children knew all these words. Where was this going they must have wondered. And why were they asked to wash their hands before sitting for “a lesson” with us (volunteers).
We then produced a box of gingerbread houses, ready to assemble. We were relieved that all the pieces for the five little houses had all survived the 20 hour flight from Canada.
Five groups were organized, each with an older and younger student. Team work! Piping icing was distributed and the construction began.
We had to wonder how many gingerbread house creations had an actual architect supervising and advising. Reach has just finished five years of study and recently graduated as an architect. He graciously floated between the groups giving suggestions and a hand. He did it all with a huge smile and eagerness. He made the activity so much easier for us.
And what a temptation to eat the sweets decorations
Next came the distribution of the house candy decorations. Only a few of the gumdrops ended up in mouths. Too much to resist.
With cardboard and flip chart paper we had drawn a rough village setting. Each group then carefully placed their house where they thought best until a village was created. They looked quite proud of themselves as it all came together.
Then came the hard part. It was suggested that they leave the village intact until 5:00 when the older ones came back from school. That resulted in some beady stares. Yes, they agreed that was the best thing to do.
Off we went to the village schools leaving a gingerbread village being eyed by the youngest of the assemblers. Postponement of gratification we mumbled to each other. How mean could be another way of looking at it.
(They managed to hold out until every single student was home before the sweet, delicious chaos began!)
The next day when we returned to ODA Central we asked how long the village remained intact before being eaten.
5:02 was the answer!
We eventually found the village layout we had drawn
But not a house in sight. Not even a crumb.
Yes, they ate it, they told us. “You ate a house?” we asked.
It took the younger ones a moment to see the humour.
“Yes, I ate a house!”
Irregular Verbs & Joyful Noise: Making English Fun
run ran
buy bought
begin began
Irregular verbs simply have to be memorized. They don’t follow the rules. So, how do you liven up the process? As volunteers, we decided to add a little noise.
Cambodians love excessive volume so
In true Cambodian fashion—where the louder it is, the better the celebration—our students mastered their tricky verb tenses accompanied by a full symphony of party horns!
The students love games. They yell and cheer. Add a noisemaker, and it’s even louder.
Two teams in rows, flash cards of irregular verbs, noisemakers instead of buzzers, and let the fun begin. Points taken away for premature noise! The teacher kept score.
Of course, there was always the noisemaker that squeaked instead of squawking. That caused an entire break down of the game in laughter and we had to call a timeout.
When we all left the school for the evening we were sent off with a chorus of noisemakers!
How to liven up the reinforcement of irregular verbs?
Add a little noise.
Five Minute Reinforcement
Many of the children arrive early for school. A great time for a little reinforcement game.
With the older, later classes, there is often a short wait until everyone arrives from their other classes. A great time for a little reinforcement game.
We would pull out a canister of Spot it! Alphabet. It’s a matching game with letters, shapes, and colours. The players have to call out the letter, shape, and colour to get a match. It’s fast-paced, engaging, and easy to learn. It’s a perfect combination of fun and learning.
The photos are at ODA Central. We pulled out a canister, asked if anyone wanted to play, and soon had a full table. The rules were explained and then the fun began. Wow! Those kids are competitive. And loud. I played several hands with them and reluctantly have to admit that I only won once.
It also proved to be a great ice breaker at the village schools. The game would start with one student and in a few seconds, a crowd would gather. We both carried a couple of Spot it! Alphabet in our schoolbags.
Fun. Reinforcement of letters, shapes, and colours. Quick.
And loud. Very loud.
Lesson for the Volunteer
Before leaving for Cambodia I printed and laminated several copies of a board-type game I had created. It was aimed at mid level English students. It was the usual roll the dice, move the appropriate number of spaces, and answer the question in the square.
With a few minutes before the class at a village school began I gave a game to each group. I passed out dice and markers. OK, let the games begin.
The teacher and I walked between the groups. Something wasn’t right. Puzzled faces. No progress on the boards.
At ODA Central board games are a common activity. I had assumed that would be the same for the village schools. Well, you know what is said about assumptions.
Some of the groups rolled the dice and moved the markers as expected. They then went back to start again. The game never progressed. No one was ever going to get to the finish square.
Who learned the most that day?
The Pencil Stub
Just returning from volunteering at the ODA village schools has me flashing back to previous visits.
Staying in my mind is watching a young boy at one of the village schools printing in his workbook with a pencil stub. How are his fingers not cramping, I thought.
I rummaged in my schoolbag, quietly walked to his desk, and gave him a new pencil. He used this for the remainder of the class.
At the end of the class he tried to give me the pencil back. He thought it was a loan. I told him it was his.
The next day I watched the same young boy printing with his pencil stub. Did he not like the new pencil? Had he given it away? Was he saving it?
I don’t know. I just know that this image has stayed with me for several years.
Well this may be the last of our ‘Reflections’ from this year. As volunteers our role is to assist the teachers when they ask and help the children with their desk work. Any other activities are purely if you want to.Not being chase a ball sporty types any of our extra activities usually involved conversation or words.We found that a pad of paper and a pencil were great ice breakers before class. We would draw a grid, mark an X or an O in a square, and hand it to a shy student. Within seconds a group would have formed, chatter, and more games in progress. What a perfect way to get a conversation going.The teachers were happy if we had a word game of some kind to add a little variety to the week. I think we had as much fun as the kids!
Closing Remarks from ODA
Beyond their classroom preparation, our volunteers bring a world of enthusiasm, fresh perspectives, and invaluable skills that open our students' eyes to possibilities far beyond their villages. Whether sharing lessons, introducing traditions like gingerbread making, or simply engaging in everyday conversations, these visits give our kids a priceless opportunity to practice English natively and gain confidence for their future careers.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our enthusiastic Canadian couple Suzanne and Stephen, for their dedicated preparation and for giving our students memories—and skills—that will inspire them long after the lessons end.
Help us equip the next generation with the skills and education to succeed.
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