MONTHLY

ACHIEVEMENT REPORT Summer School in Boca Vieja

Manuel Antonio Community Programs, January 2014

Summary GVI Manuel Antonios holiday activities during the run up to the start of the school year, enjoyed
by volunteers and children and particular successful in getting children to work together and think logically
as well as looking after the younger members of the group.
Report
Happy New Year from GVI Manuel Antonio. As with last year we started the calendar year with school
holidays and with children who havent been in school since before Christmas. Because the school year runs
from February to December it leaves a huge gap over
the Christmas period for children to generally get up
to mischief, get bored and forget how to be in school.
Running programs like this in the run up to school
starting can be extremely valuable for the students
and teachers alike as we are able to give children a
fun and inspirational environment while including
some educational activities as well and enforcing a
somewhat structured framework to help them enjoy
themselves and get used to being in a slightly school
like environment.
The template used in previous holidays has worked
well for us and this time was no exception. We
started our day with some fun and informal games
leading into a more structured educational activity, which could include some English learning, arts and
crafts or something equally creative such as creating a real life mascot for a team! Something that we are
always keen to do with these children is encourage them to get involved in a variety of activities so we
always try to include some team games and sports. We were particularly pleased with the range of activities
we managed to run this year ranging from obstacle courses and simple sports like soccer and basketball all
the way to more innovative games like a writing relay in which team
members had to memorise as much of an English phrase as possible
and then write it on a board at the far side of the playing area. Things
like this force the children to work together, something they are not
always well practised at, as well as getting them to think about their
tactics rather than just drawing on knowledge of a game that they are
very well acquainted with such as soccer. There were particular
successes in the obstacle courses and basketball games in which team
mates were very keen to help one another and work together to win
as a team rather than trying to play individually. We were also
delighted to see that in one game of musical chairs the whole group of
children made certain that the youngest, only 3 years old, won. In a
culture where competitiveness is a way of life and children will often
GVI Manuel Antonio staff member helping create a lion
as one of the team mascots.

cheat heavily to win this was something heart-warming and

unexpected.

GVI Manuel Antonio helping one of

the children create an information
sheet about himself in English.

We spent a very successful two weeks running activities and are very much looking forward to doing
something similar over the next holiday period. Many children were asking when we would be back to play
with them again so we know that our work is having a very positive influence and the next time will be
eagerly awaited.