Creche Sarthi - my school in the slums

It has now been a week since I started my placement site. I am helping teach 2-4 yr olds at a school called the creche Sarthi in the Janta Jeevan Rajeev Camp about 30 min away from Hauz Khas. Every morning Sunil drops off my flatmate Leia and I to school and we teach for a half day. There is one group of children in the mornings and another group that comes in the afternoon. I use the term "school" to describe the eventual goal the director wants to reach. What I go to is literally a shed. Every morning Leia and I cross the main street into the camp. Our school is situated right at the entrance of the camp so its not far, but unfortunately it is right next to the public toilets. An open sewer cuts across the path right in front of the door, if we're lucky the wind is blowing the other way. As you step through the door you see 1 light bulb, 1 ceiling fan, and 4 very small ventilation holes with one desk in the corner that...is...it. The walls were painted years ago and are chipping horribly. Artwork has been put up, but its limited to just a few drawings the older children have made. There is also a peg board that has pictures of when the school was opened a few months ago. I think there might be a blackboard but it hasn't been put on the wall. Above the photo board near the top left hand corner of the ceiling is a small shrine set up to Sawarasti the goddess of knowledge and learning who watches over the class. On the back wall are a few cabinets that hold the meager school supplies and a CD player. The class role has 26 children to one teacher- Sushma, who speaks limited English. That's 3 times the amount of children Virginia State allows for a teacher. Their ages and abilities vary in range but most physically look like 3 yr olds. Malnutrition and hygiene are major concerns here. The director speaks very good English and comes to the creche 2 times a week. Every morning the children start with a group prayer where they fold their hands together and chant "OM," which according to Eastern religions creates balance and harmony in the children as well as the surrounding area, sometimes I feel that is all the good I can do. After prayer Leia and I help Sushma or "Teacher Madam" with journals. They're beginning to practice making lines and drawling shapes. The older ones start practicing the English and Hindi alphabet. These journals are done one on one and the kids who are waiting are often bored. Indian schools focus a lot of rote learning-repetition, repetition, repetition! So Leia and I are there to help Sushma learn English songs and games. I have been running a very basic circle time with them singing simple songs that have expressive hand gestures with them. We sing "5 Little Monkeys," "Mr. Golden Sun," "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," "Clap You Hands," etc. I'm glad Sushma is picking up a few of the songs after a few days. I will repeat these ones and maybe add one more song, I've done a few activities with them like reading a very simple book (they repeat the words and identify pictures), and making necklaces. I'll be using flash cards, buttons and other things to help them with counting and letter recognition. Then the children who bring lunch eat and the teachers have chai. We then turn on the CD player and dance to children's songs. I'm not sure how big the school is but definitely too crowded for the kids and there is no where for them to play outside so it can be a bit chaotic at times. Then older siblings or mother's pick up their kids and Sushma and the older children's teacher have a short break until the next class arrives. Sunil then picks us up and we go home for our own lunch. Even though I'm only working a fraction of my normal work day all the volunteers are emotionally and physically exhausted, a heavy lunch usually tempts most of us to a nap. I'm not tired, even though I'm still jet lagged. I am lucky because even though my work is hard the children are always happy and its hard to be sad when I see their smiles.