(LO6,7)

Towards the second half of the year, we were able to interact with DSA through zoom calls, and have several sessions with them where we went through singing, dancing, crafts, and storytelling activities. When planning these sessions, I took initiative in planning the arts and crafts segment. Sometimes I had trouble coming up with ideas for this, as I had to consider what would be simple enough to conduct over a video call while being enjoyable. Outside of service, I began looking for crafts activities we could do that wasn’t restricted to folding paper. From this, I realised how challenging it is to plan an activity for others who I haven’t closely understood. I found it difficult to balance ability and entertainment, especially because we aren’t physically with our service partners. This links to when I assist teaching at a Japanese school, where there are language barriers, and age differences, which get in the way of getting work done efficiently. However, I’ve learnt that taking the time to interact with them is more valuable than actually completing the task.

Another situation where our service had to reconsider or carefully plan was for International Down Syndrome day. We initiated a dress-up day, where all students and staff were encouraged to wear ‘odd socks’ for the day. We had to be considerate of how we addressed the issue and raised awareness.