These partnerships have been a wonderful way for children and teachers to learn from each other. They learn about each others cultures, get to know students in each class and share what is the same and what is different between the US and Rwanda.
Friends Schoolhouse Preschool, PA
This new partnership focused on how babies are carried. The school's parents took photos of all the ways babies are carried in the US by mothers, fathers and grandparents and even kids carrying their stuffed animals. The teachers compiled a booklet to send with the book, "A Ride on Mother's Back" signed by the teachers. One parent sent a side sling baby carrier. In Rwanda we had the new sewing center make two smaller versions of the sling carrier for the children to use. The children in David's class had fun learning something new.
Mt. Nittany Elementary School, PA
Third graders at this school learn about Africa and through one child a partnership was formed. This child learned about the Urukundo Home for Children at her church where she and others collected shoes and money for goats. She shared this with her teacher who was excited to become connected. They agreed to collect buttons to be used as teaching tools for math in Rwanda. The Rwandan baskets overflowed with buttons, so they decided to make "Button People" as a gift for the preschoolers. In Rwanda the children created a button frame and a picture of hands with button jewelry as gifts for the 3rd graders. And of course they read "Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons". The third graders also wrote letters and drew pictures for the Primary 1 classes about their families, sports, food, pets, hobbies, snow and their homes. Learning together continues across the world!!!
Child Care Center at Hort Woods, Penn State, PA
This has been a 2 year partnership comparing classrooms, sharing children's photos and names and giving each other baskets from their country. Booklets of how each of the baskets were made were given to each school. This time the theme was, "A Circle of Friends". Photos of each pair of children, Picture Pals, were attached to a letter and artwork. Then the children in Rwanda sent back a letter with mosaic art to each of their Picture Pals.
