Jungle-workshop
Internship with 9-year-old students at De Zonnebloem Primary School
During our official first internship period in our first year, the entire class went to De Zonnebloem Primary School in Wilrijk. We were divided among all grade levels, and Abel, Maarten, and I were assigned the third grade.
The theme of the school’s annual festival was “a country of your own.” Each grade had invented its very own country and worked around this theme in different lessons! The third graders’ country was called Istopia—a jungle world full of fantasy creatures.
We naturally built our workshop around this theme! During our first workshop, we created all kinds of decorations for their country: a house with furniture, leaves, vines, and flowers. The students were divided into 3 big groups and taught by Abel, Maarten and myself. We followed a step-by-step plan and later assembled everything during our free time so it would be ready to present in our second workshop.
Before our workshops, students filled in a workbook with their teacher, imagining their ideal creature for their fantasy country. We then used these workbooks as inspiration for the second workshop, where students recreated their fantasy creatures using clay. We concluded this workshop with a small practice booklet for the faster students.
“Nele guided the children appropriately. She set boundaries when the group became too noisy. She was also able to indicate when a child went a step too far. She gave lots of positive feedback and helped students who were shy or lacked inspiration. When the supervisor offered tips, she applied them effectively.”
