I chose to do this service because I believe that the service is targeting to improve a valid issue that many Singaporeans face in our local community. Personally I enjoy working with kids to some extent consequently enabling me to enjoy this more. I believe that the way to tackle income inequality and assist those in the low-income bracket is to educate and enrich the understanding of the future generation to hopefully enable them to do better for themselves and provide them with the tools and opportunities to do so. We aim to organize, create, and plan arts and crafts activities that will develop their creativity and innovation in order to enhance their learning at their school. These kids have 2 working parents. I use learning outcome 6 here as I am taking part in this service in order to tackle a pressing global issue locally in a hands-on interactive way to see my impact more clearly and close to home. The global issue of intra-country income inequality is a very real issue that is growing as the income gap increases due to the rising middle class and further urbanization and development of countries like Singapore. I have also conducted research on this issue to further my understanding of this service as well as the issue the service is tackling in Singapore as a whole.

10th September

During the first session of service, we talked about the service including the purpose, and the intended outcome. This used learning outcome 3 as we went through a detailed creation and conception of ideas of possible sessions whilst simultaneously evaluating and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each suggested idea. We brainstormed what we could do to create the best possible fun and educational experience for the kids using a variety of knowledge from some people’s experience of previous years running this service. This was effective as it enabled us to evaluate strengths and weaknesses and plan our activities and course of action accordingly. We then came to the conclusion that in order for us as a service to work well together we would need to get to know each other a little better and understand each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and opinions. In order to do this, we played some icebreakers amongst ourselves to learn each other’s names and become more comfortable with one another. We talked about what was important in our service, things like communication, listening to other people’s ideas, being considerate, and supportive of each other. Everyone’s contribution is essential for creating an effective working environment as without this we will not come to the most retrospective conclusion. We need to be sure to take everyone’s opinions into consideration as this will best help us work as a team. This uses learning outcome 5 as we enrich our experience and convey our sessions most effectively using the strengths of collaboration and subsequent teamwork.

17th September

During the second session, we conducted the 4 corners activity and identified and evaluated the problems and questions that we may face. Such as how do we communicate with the kids, how do we cater to our audience, how do we. keep it authentic and creative as well as educational and fun. We used the planning document to plan out our course of action for future visits there. A chair for the service was then nominated, (Sharada) and we planned out and brainstormed possible activities for the kids. We decided that we would all take turns in pairs to plan and coordinate activities for each time we meet them.

 

24th September

During this session, we actually went to block 858 of the HDB in which the school was located. We had some activities planned with the kids such as making and designing a name card so everyone could get to know each other’s names. We thought this would make the kids more comfortable as it would allow everyone to connect more. This task also uses their creativity by designing representative name cards. They then stood up and introduced themselves in front of the class while holding their name cards. This helped them to communicate effectively and also have the courage to speak up in front of the class. Creativity and communication are both very valuable and increasingly required skills in today’s world which they could benefit from.

 

1st October

We reflected on the strengths and weaknesses that our previous session had in order to plan more effective future sessions. We utilized learning outcome 5 to collaborate effectively as a group. Some challenges are compromising to come to the consensus of one idea as everyone in the group holds different ideas, views, and perspectives on every decision. On our document, we analyzed what we could improve on and what went well as well as we used inputs from the students that had conducted this service last year as they could assist this with their prior knowledge based upon experience. We planned the next 2 or 3 sessions starting after the October break. These activities are catered to the children’s needs and capabilities as well as what we know they enjoy. The teachers at their school kindly sent us a copy of their curriculum so we can align our activities to support their current learning at school and further enhance their understanding. Our activities act as a supplementary aid as well as a fun and engaging output for them to enjoy and get to know other people as well as improve skills such as their creativity, collaboration, and communication. In this session, we also decided to use certain people’s strengths from our service group to most effectively conduct these sessions and get the best result.

5th November

Today we went to the HDB where the kids are and although we had an intended plan we were not the best organized therefore we had to improvise. This used learning outcome 2 as we encountered this as a challenge that we had to be critical thinkers to overcome spontaneously. We had originally planned to bring in enough toilet role for all the kids so that we could make animals as this was closely related to what they are currently studying and hence, beneficial to enriching their learning and understanding. Unfortunately, not many people remembered to bring in toilet role although I did so we had to come up with a backup plan when we arrived. We also used learning outcome 4 as we persevered regardless of our predetermined shortcomings. However, someone in the group had conveniently brought in quite a lot of pebbles for one of the following sessions so we decided to do that activity instead of as the school supplies the paints for the activities. We instructed the kids to draw their favorite animal in pairs on the pebbles and be creative. This was the first activity, to wrap up the session we conducted some singing sessions where the kids sang along to their favorite nursery rhymes and songs which they seemed to really enjoy. They even added in a Chinese song voluntarily with a choreographed dance which really showed their enthusiasm. Overall, despite the obvious shortcomings of organization and preparation which we strive to improve on in the future, the session was a great success as the kids thoroughly enjoyed it and were allowed certain freedoms to express themselves creatively as well as learn new things through enriching experiences. For the little kids, it is essential to make connections in order to enable them to learn most effectively and efficiently hence making it crucial that we link the content of our activities and sessions to what they are learning in class at any given time. This is also the reason that planning proves to be important in devising these activities.

 

12th November

This session demonstrated learning outcome 4 as I have been actively involved in this service and attending and participating in each session. We have been regularly going to the HDB to interact and conduct our sessions with the kids and have been building connections. For example, there is a little boy called Ikram who now knows me personally and we have talked and I got to know about his home life situation as well as more about him which was very heartwarming to see the origination of these kids and better understand the manner in which we can help better their lives. We used the feedback that we assimilated from the previous session to create an activity better suited and planned to cater to the kid’s needs. We created an activity in which the kids would paint their favorite animals on a paper in pairs and write a couple of facts about them to create a zoo. This not only uses their creativity but it also educated them as after they are finished they have. a gallery walks and looks at their peer’s zoo creations and find out facts about other animals. This activity incorporates creativity as well as individuality as they are encouraged to draw their favorite animal the way they think it appears. The kids found this activity very fun as they got to share their perspective and views as well as use paints which allow them to think creatively. Furthermore, we conducted this activity as it incorporates elements of the unit they are currently learning at school which is useful as it furthers their understanding and enriches their knowledge consequently making classes more interactive.

 

19th November

In this session, we came up with a simple origami activity in which everyone in the service group had learned how to teach prior to the session. While teaching we ensured to be patient and slow and after every fold and step, we would wait for some time and make sure that everyone had followed along correctly and ask all the kids to hold up their piece of origami to check they had one it right and if they hadn’t we would help them to correct it. This teaches them creativity as well as fine motor skills and following logical instructions. Once the fox, dog, or cat had been created they were then given supplies to decorate and personalize the animals the way that they wanted. Consequently, this creates a sense of individuality as well as informs them about different kinds of animals and some facts about them and basic origami skills. Furthermore, they were encouraged to talk about their favorite animal and share in small groups and this encourages communication and leadership as they get a chance to share their point of view and their opinion which also increases their self-confidence and enriches their learning experience which is a component of the aim of this service.

26th November

Today we had a different type of session planned for the kids. We brought in books about curious George which were interactive and interesting and we read out loud to the class while using expressions and pointing to really engage the kids with the story. We had brought 2 curious George books to read to the class and after each one, we had printed out sheets of black and white stencil pictures of Curious George from the book for them to color as they deemed fit. This session was a great success as all the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves as when they were being read to they were very intrigued. Furthermore, the coloring activity broke up the monotony of the reading as kids that age have very short attention spans and therefore struggle to concentrate on one single activity for an extended period of time. This allowed them to improve their listening and comprehension skills as well as be creative as they were allowed to use all the colors to color the drawings how they pleased.

 

10th December 2019

In this session, we made sure to align our activities with what they are currently learning at the school. We did this by inquiring with their supervising teachers in order to create relevant activities which aim to consequently enhance their quality of education. We ensured to take into consideration the fact that they are very young and therefore have short attention spans and can get distracted easily hence requiring constant engagement to reach the full potential of our purpose working with them. They are currently learning about the environment and water so therefore, we ended up creating an activity to do with water. We used Singapore’s PUB mascot Water Wally whom they all seemed to know and recognize. We gave them colored paper and got them to draw out Water Wally and decorate him. After this, we then asked them as a class what they believe water is important for, the class brainstormed before going back to their tables and writing the uses and reasons water is important on the perimeter of their Water Wally paper to create neat little posters summarising some key and essential common uses that they came up with. I had to help them with spelling more than I had initially anticipated but that was alright because I think the activity was well planned and at the right level for them in a way that they were challenged to some extent but it wasn’t too difficult for them to the point where they were struggling. It was an adequate challenge as it made them utilize their brains in a different way and think more critically about what they observe in everyday life, at home and outside, the different important uses of water. They came up with ideas such as Cooking, cleaning, drinking, bathing, watering plants, etc. We also had a storytime session at the beginning of the session to initially grab their attention to enable a more productive and useful session about water after that. I learned that with little kids it is essential to grasp their attention initially to ensure that they are in the right state of mind to assimilate and understand and engage effectively in what you have planned for them. We knew that they would enjoy the storytime reading session as the session prior we did a storytime about Curious George which they thoroughly enjoyed. We had brought 2 books from the Junior school library to read to them. However, when we arrived upon random inspection one of our group members decided to randomly conduct we realized that the book was inappropriate and came to the consensus as a service group that we would not read it to them. This was due to the fact that it was a book about a little girl who lived in 2 homes because her parents were divorced and always used to fight and she talked about the problems that she faces being the child of 2 unhappy divorced parents who do not talk to each other. We decided that this was not the way to breach such a complicated topic for the first time as it is not ethical and morally correct to subject them to that potential mental trauma, confusion, and worry as we thought they were a little too young and it was far too premature to bring this topic up. Furthermore, we thought about what the parents of these kids may want and thought that they wouldn’t want their kids reading about this for the very first time at such a young age in a book and consequently creating perceptions of relationships and expectations based on one input, this is not ideal as at that age kids mind’s are very malleable and can be influenced greatly by environmental inputs such as what they hear, and observe and we didn’t want to be responsible for that potential mistake as it is a topic we believe parents should have a sit-down talk with their kids about for the first time at a more appropriate age. Instead, we compromised and improvised and ended up just reading the other of the 2 books we brought with us which was a lot more innocent and appropriate and fun for them to comprehend and enjoy and interact with. It was probably one of our most successful sessions overall and the kids thoroughly enjoyed the activities that we conducted.

 

 

11th February

In Today’s session, we stayed at school due to the Coronavirus situation which made us unable to meet our service partners either at their kindergarten or have them over here. We spent the session which was our last session with the grade 10’s before grade 9’s replaced them. We spent the majority of that session evaluating our strengths and weaknesses in reference to the SMART goals we had set for ourselves on the action planning document. We completed the SWOT analysis as a group and discussed possible areas we could improve on in the future on the occasion that we get an opportunity to meet them again and conduct activities. Learning outcome 2 was used as we had to face a different situation that challenged us to come up with alternative ideas in order to still be productive. We seek another method of achieving the aim. We gained new skills by persevering and coming up with different strategies and dealing with a situation that could not have been foreseen or planned for. This was done through learning outcome 4 as it required perseverance and resilience to overcome this challenge and still make the most of it.