“One of the games I favour is naming body parts in Dutch”, says Tine, a Roeland NT2 volunteer. “I write the names of body parts on post-its beforehand, and afterwards the children stick it in the right place on someone who volunteers to be in the spotlights. It is hilarious, I can assure you.”
Fun camp activities.
Tine: “Our playful and accessible approach helps children with a migration history to learn Dutch faster. For example, we sing and dance to Dutch songs when we take a break. Or we simply listen to what the children have to say. You notice easily how fast their confidence grows when their ability to speak Dutch improves.”
Most moving memory.
My most moving memory was a visit to animal park Harry Malter. One of the children watched the little monkeys and I took some photographs of him. He wanted me to send these pictures to his mom. So, when she came to pick him up, I asked her if she was okay with that. She agreed, and she was incredibly happy when she saw the pictures. She texted me afterwards to let me know her kids had really enjoyed the camp, and that she was immensely pleased to see them all so happy. It was then that I realized how much I enjoy doing this work, and how much it gives me in return.”
Heartwarming drawing.
“A memory that will stay with me is when I asked the children to draw a picture of a map of the traffic situation. When the assignment was in progress, we did our tour and asked if we, as teachers, could be helpful. One of the kids wanted to know how my name is spelled. He was very secretive about his drawing, and he did not let me take a look at it before it was finished. It turned out he did not do the assignment we gave him, but he wrote his and my name, surrounded by artwork. So, he ignored the theme of the workshop completely, but he tried nonetheless to learn how to spell names. It still makes me smile because it was so adorable.”
