Teaching & Learning (and Dancing) in Malawi

Today was our first full day in the school.  We boarded our bus at 8:30am and arrived at Malemia Primary by 9:00am.  RU students observed in the classrooms and met with their teachers.  Each RU student was given a lesson to teach for tomorrow.  Some are teaching English/Vocabulary, others Math and some Expressive Arts and Social Science.  They are very excited, and perhaps a bit nervous, too, which is to be expected.  I have a great group this year, so I know they will be fabulous! The children at Malemia Primary School are most welcoming to us visitors.  They circled around us during feeding time today, eager to touch our hands and ask us our names.  A few toddlers wandering around in the school yard seemed to be sizing us up.  I'm sure we're quite a sight to little ones such as these who have never seen visitors like us before! In Standard 7 class today, the students were learning about dancing in Expressive Arts . They discussed the various dances that take place during holidays, festivals, etc. in their village community.  One of our RU students asked if she could see an example of some of the examples being discussed.  At that, drums were brought out and the students began to dance and dance and dance.  It was great!  Before we knew it, we became a part of the dance lesson, doing our best to keep up with the footwork, the rhythm and the arm movements, too.   We certainly got our workout for the day (who needs Zumba when you can dance in Malawi?!?)!  I'm sure we provided much material for laughter among the students and teachers, too!  It was a good day!