We have now been working at Palana for three weeks now and it continues to be extremely rewarding. We help at the Pre School in the morning and we are now left almost in complete charge of the after-school club which runs from 3-5.

We have seen considerable progress at the pre-school from the first week. There are fewer mums staying for the morning with their children so in general the children are now much better behaved. They listen to the teachers and have got used to settling down to concentrate on whatever activity they are doing. A meal rota has started now where one mother cooks a small meal for all the children and the teachers about 10.30. Yesterday we had vegetable noodles which were delicious. It is nice that the teachers sit down and eat the same food as the children. The playground equipment is very popular with a rush to get outside and on the swings first when outdoor play is announced. The children are developing independence and confidence which they did not have when they first arrived.

For the afternoon activities we always spend a considerable amount of time the evening before preparing what activities we will do. Craft activities are always popular and we hope that in the coming weeks we can give the older children a bit more responsibility in helping us with the tasks. Last Monday we taught the children lots of names of fruit and vegetables and many laughed at my appalling attempts to draw them. We also played the ‘I went to the Market and I bought…’ game. I am sure you know the game, another fruit is added each time as you go around the circle. It was an excellent game because the older and the younger children get something out of it. It was really touching how the older children helped the little ones to join in and remember each fruit. We did not actually have time for songs before we finished at 5 but they begged us to sing the “Hokey Cokey” so we stayed a few minutes longer and sang it, to their absolute delight. They still have not got bored of it. Songs are always popular and an important part of Sri Lankan culture, we attempt to sing along to the Sinhalese songs which are now becoming more familiar.

It has been an exhausting but extremely rewarding 3 weeks and we hope that the next 3 weeks will be as action-packed as the last.