Playground Building

Arno Tuts

Playground Building

27/01/11

Hours: 4

1.                  In this activity I helped build a playground for a local school in Marich. With money we raised, metal workers at ISK built a swing and monkey bar set for us and we brought these with us on the bus. When we got to the school we had to dig eight holes to place the playground set into. I drove the wheelbarrows full of large rocks from a pile of rocks outside the school to the designated playground area. We used these rocks to fill the holes once the playground had been placed inside. We then mixed cement and gravel to cover up the holes and fasten the playground to the ground. As a final piece of work we poured some water over the gravel. I interacted with the children of the school by playing small games with them. It was great to see their faces lighten up as they saw us build the playground.

2.                  During this activity I hoped to accomplish making the children of the school happy. I wanted to give them something that was new to them so that they could have fun. I also wanted to witness the joy and curiosity on the faces of the children.

3.                  I believe that I was successful in achieving my goals. I was able to make the children happy and it was a special feeling to see the children’s faces glow with their joy and curiosity. It always feels nice to do something meaningful. It was sometimes hard to transport the wheelbarrows because of the several problems they had. With one of the wheelbarrows the wheel was crooked and with the other one the handles were half broken. Therefore I had to carry the wheelbarrow from one side of the wheelbarrow. This made the load more difficult to transport but it was manageable. We also had trouble with the straightness of the playground a few times but we overcame this problem by adding or taking away a few stones.

4.                  I learned that I am good at doing manual work and that my strength gives me many advantages when building something. I have also developed my skills with cement and gravel mixing and I am well informed on how to fasten objects to the ground.

5.                  My peers helped me think about my learning during this activity by sharing my interest and curiosity in the children’s happiness. This way I was able to fully appreciate the work I was doing and therefore also enjoy it.

6.                  This activity helped others by giving the children of the school a new playground to add variety to their play during their free time. We also gave them something to be excited about. The children now have more to do when they have free time. This also makes it easier for the local teachers.