We left with learners waving goodbye and headed towards Cofimvaba. I was reminded of the incident of getting stuck in the mud and pointed out to everyone where we had to be rescued. Sbo had warned me that the school was only Grade R to Grade 3 and that he did not recommend that we do the Alternative Fuel Demonstrations.
On arrival we met the principal and the decision was taken to allow the Grade 2 and 3s to play with the Lego. This is always a winner as it did not take long for the usual scrum for pieces. The basic instruction was to find 10 pieces and to return to their desk. They were given a few minutes to construct something with the pieces that had and then ask their partners to check that they had used on 10 bricks. There were some that had not followed the instructions.
The next step was for them to combine their blocks to make something bigger and then to explain in English what they had made. Easier said than done as they battled to articulate what they had made despite the high levels of interest and enthusism.
Sadly after about 90 minutes we had to drag the equipment away from them having seen the positive effects on their cognitive development. I am convinced that well constructed Lego programme has a place in education to the point of impacting on most subjects in a positive way.
I was not looking forward to leaving this community that I had come to know so intimately let alone the long drive to Pinetown. It was an awesome journey visiting all 26 schools in the Nciba district with a bonus of adding a further 4 schools and the Lego project.This journey had included over 3500 learners and a large number of teachers as well.
There were many lessons learnt and I look forward to implementing these in the next project.