Practice tournament

Yesterday we hosted practice tournament for the 16 teams in our area. We had 8 teams show up which was pretty good considering how things have been going. Some of the teams are struggling to get practices in where more than one or two kids can attend. It is interesting that teams that are led by parents are moving along quite well but teams that are led by teachers are having trouble finding time. Teachers here are quite busy teaching school during the day and running after school activities in the afternoons (schools are out around 1:15PM). The teachers that are coaching FLL also coach cricket, chess, theatre, arts and cultures, etc plus have meetings with parents and all the other duties that go along with being teachers.

My team (the g33k$) provided mentoring during the day while I helped train volunteers for judging at the tournament we are hosting on Nov 20th. The program runs a bit differently here and since it is relatively new there is a lot for people (and me!) to learn. It was a great day for the kids and I am hopeful those attending recognized areas to work on for the next 3 weeks in preparation for their tournament. Perhaps the best part of the day was meeting parents of the kids we have been working with weekly. These parents are likely to become part of the core group that will continue to develop this program in future years. One dad is ready to take over a team and start practicing in his garage this week. Many parents commented on how great a program FLL is...how it gives their child a chance to think differently than they are used to in school. A judge commented how it allows kids opportunities to talk with adults and researchers about real world problems. She also felt that kids in South Africa are at a disadvantage compared to American kids as far as overall educational opportunities. She believes that kids here are not encouraged to think about their role in "real world" problems.

Our days will change starting this week as kids here are entering exams. Their school year ends soon (end of Nov) and they have finals every other day. On exam days they only attend school for their exam and the rest of the day is spent at home. On days without exams they don't attend school at all. So we will start going to town much earlier in the day to work with teams. Typically we have our school in the AM and go in for our service learning in the afternoons. Hope our kids all adjust well to this change as we have asked them to adjust to much already. Overall, though, for 6 kids and 2 moms to do what we are doing things are going GREAT!

Happy Halloween everyone. We might make caramel apples today, but otherwise Halloween is not celebrated here. We can't find a can of pumpkin puree as we wanted to make pumpkin bars.

Deb