No school, crowded beaches, hot temperatures and cold drinks. Summer arrived. For us volunteers, this means there is no more work in the schools and kindergarten on the island since it is summer vacation. Instead of that, we meet in the evening, when the sun goes down in the schoolyard of one of the schools.
The children can join if they want and bring their friends or also their parents or grandparents. It is a great opportunity to spend time together, play games and talk. Everyone gets to meet their friends again, make new friends and enjoy the time in a relaxed atmosphere. For me, it is great to see some of the kids again that I spent the school year in kindergarten. When summer break started I wasn’t sure if I will ever going to see them again, which left me feeling a little sad. It is nice seeing them outside of kindergarten and just listening to what they have to say and playing their favorite games with them. Over the year I also learned a little bit of Greek which makes it possible to explain some new games to the kids as well. Of course, there is still a language barrier, but that doesn’t stop us from communicating. Using sign language and just showing what you mean is always a safe way to make them understand you.
The older kids always love to play basketball on the basketball court in the schoolyard. Our job is to make teams and control that everybody plays fair. Even the smaller kids like basketball too. The basket is too high for them so we like doing some tripling exercises and competitions.
Moreover, we set up a game of dodgeball, mila or volleyball. Classics like tag or rope jumping are simple but much-loved games as well. It is very nice to see how everyone is included in the games. Age, appearance or ability doesn’t matter as long as we can always make sure that everyone is safe. The children learn how to play fair and also how to work together in a team. Sportsmanship is very important.
In general, it is nice to see how appreciated we are when we prepare a game or ask them to play something together. We always have a lot of fun and even though we are in a kind of supervisor role, we can play with the kids like we are one of them. It is so nice to see how they open up over the weeks and how they become more outgoing. The schoolyard becomes a safe space where everyone can have fun and where we are all one big group that plays together.
