Week 7: Fetal Development and Beaded Necklaces

this week was a quick prep. my counterparts decided to meet at 10 on wednesdays to prep and we usually spend until about 2 getting ready for our club meetings. today was the last day of school before a week and a half break (with year round schooling, we get a break after each quarter). the school all of a sudden knocked off at 12, so we jumped into the deep end this week. we started with a game loose caboose: a tag game where the girl being persued must join a train of 3 girls becoming the new caboose and sending the engine off running. once back inside, we dove into the lesson. the lesson seemed to go ok. the girls seemed to like the fetal development chart with pictures i had included in their books. the discussion lacked as usual. knowing it would, i had also planned some activities. the girls each got a slip of paper with a phrase on it (drink plenty of water, eat healthy, smoke tobacco...). my counterparts did a great job translating the phrases as some terms like seatbelt or chemicals are not so common. they had to choose if their phrase would help or hurt a developing fetus and stick it in the correct column on the chalk board. then we discussed why for each. we tackled quite a few errors and it seemed to be high interest and the girls were curious. then we talked about becoming pregnant and reasons to wait. i split the girls into 5 groups. each group had a different description of a woman: single with a job, single without a job, married with a job, married without a job, in high school. they had to write on the board how they would feel and what they would do if they were to be that woman and become pregnant. then we talked about why and what choices a girl has and why someone would want to wait to get pregnant. their homework is to tell me at our next meeting why they will choose to wait. my counterparts really struggled with the topic this week and i know talking about some things openly is difficult in this culture, but i did not realize this would be one. i really wish i could lead these disscusions openly and in sepedi, but my star has not come out yet. our craft this week was making a beaded necklace. they enjoyed it, and most of them looked great. but something was not right and before we left 2 necklaces had fallen apart and 1 had a broken clasp. hopefully that is all the problems any of them will have. at the end of our meeting, yet again, we were locked in the school grounds and had to call and be rescued. i seriously wonder quite often what the purpose of a locked gate is and if it causes more problems than it prevents. some things i will never understand.