My Family, My Home

In only a few more weeks we will swear in as Peace Corps Education Sector Literacy Volunteers. This last week we were back in classrooms with primary school (Grade 3 and 5) students. We decided to teach a day about family and home. There are 4 of us PCTs (trainees) in our school – we each brought a few pictures of our own families and home towns to share with the students.

My Family, my home: Jamaica and U.S.

Then they drew us pictures of their families and presented them to the entire class. [Our PC privacy rules mean that we can’t show a lot of pictures right now – but the kids were so engrossed.] We even included some rhythm instruments in our classes, and all the kids played a short concert for our PC Supervisor when he visited the classroom.

Sights on the road to Kingston

 

We also made a field trip to Kingston (about 2 hours from St. Thomas Parish) to visit the Institute of Jamaica where we learned about the history of Jamaican music genres, and then to Devon House, the family home (and now National Trust site) of Jamaica’s “First Black Millionaire” George Stiebel. His father was a German Jewish immigrant from Frankfurt (same background as my father), so I am trying to find out if I’m related to the Stiebels (more later).

Irene and Dewy at the Institute of Jamaica



Devon House, Kingston

 ...and of course, one more picture of the sea: