The 2010 school year ended in December and we are now on break until February 14th. In Vanuatu their "big spell" between school years is during the holidays. I stayed on Ambae for an island Christmas but decided I wanted to keep working at the school. Using a reading assessment I found out what level each student was at. Then I grouped them together by ability. Then, three mornings a week, for 6 weeks, I held reading groups with every student that wanted to join!
The Kindergarten kids were the most dedicated! This was their first time using the school's library. We read stories, sang songs, and practiced phonics. They never missed a week.
For students in Kindergarten through 3rd grade we practiced phonics, sight word recognition, spelling, reading and comprehension.
The older students, grades 4th - 8th, came to practice their English. We used a program called "Splash" which had great stories and activities to follow. The program encouraged them to use conversational English and practice their grammar.
This was the first time that anyone had continued with school activities during the break in my village. In the two bigger cities in Vanuatu there are some opportunities to pay for tutors but never has it reached West Ambae. Students, parents, and community leaders were grateful for my willingness to take some of my time during the holiday break to continue teaching, for free. I was just happy to stay busy! It was lots of fun.
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