Classrooms

Thursday 9^th August

More teaching under the blue sky and shady trees today. David spends much of his teaching time outside too... Perfect classroom! The free roaming horses that wander the streets of Robinson River often come into the playground, but don't distract the children.

More chats and I am learning about the lives these children live. Many carry harsh realities with them from an early age. I admire their resilience and strength.

Working across the school is enlightening and I am making the most of interacting with ages from 4 to 13 years. The senior children learn Auslan (Australian sign language), via internet connection, to support a severely hearing impaired classmate. What a joy it was to watch the children practice their signing with a teacher in Darwin. With cameras in place they interact via the big screen, building their skills and having a laugh as they go.

After school David and I helped prepare food for the 250 people expected at the funeral tomorrow. It is nearly three weeks since the two babies died. The population has swollen as extended family and friends travel vast distances to come  to this town. One funeral will be held tomorrow and the other the next day. Such a sad time for the community.

When we had finished our catering chores, we drove the ‘gator’ to the chooks with a large box of vegetable scraps in the back.  The chooks showed their delight at the big feed by scrambling madly in all directions to peck at fresh lettuce leaves etc. and we headed off home for our own feed and nightly game of scrabble… on the trusty ipad.