{"id":8066,"date":"2019-11-18T17:04:05","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T17:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gophilanthropic.org\/?p=8066"},"modified":"2019-11-23T17:29:54","modified_gmt":"2019-11-23T17:29:54","slug":"magical-classrooms-making-great-strides-in-guatemala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gophilanthropic.org\/magical-classrooms-making-great-strides-in-guatemala\/","title":{"rendered":"Magical Classrooms Making Great Strides in Guatemala"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many organizations in Guatemala focus on increasing access to primary and secondary education, but very few include pre-primary education, especially in rural areas. Aula M\u00e1gica<\/a>\u2019s focus on pre-primary education addresses the problem at the root cause and prepares children to not only attend school, but stay in school and succeed once they reach the primary level.<\/h3>\n

The following is an overview of recent accomplishments at Aula M\u00e1gica.<\/h3>\n

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TIMELINE OF EVENTS<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>
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  • January<\/b>: H<\/span>osted their first staff training of the year. 25 Youth Facilitators and 3 Community Coordinators were in attendance from Quich\u00e9, Huehuetenango, Solol\u00e1, and Retalhuleu. One training, \u201cSensory Perception\u201d, focused on important activities involving the five senses, and trained the teachers on exercises they can easily do in the classroom to stimulate the senses and to reinforce learning in Aula M\u00e1gica learning corners.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • February<\/b>: Completed the thorough and very important task of checking the weight, height and hemoglobin of each of their 215 children. This process is part of their nutritional program, which aims to improve the overall health of their students and counteract the high rate of malnutrition in rural areas of Guatemala.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • March<\/b>: Community Coordinators met with the students\u2019 families to address cleaning at home, hygiene, and nutrition, as well as other important issues. Meetings are held every three months and<\/span>\u00a0sessions are a critical part of getting the children off to a great start. Parents always express sincere gratitude for the visits, saying that the children learn so many things in the Aula M\u00e1gica classroom that allow them to be successful in the first grade. The school principals agree stating: \u201cthe children enter first grade with knowledge that we can build on that year and help them move forward.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/li>\n
  • May<\/b> &<\/b> June<\/b>: Carried out the task of visiting every Aula M\u00e1gica classroom across Quich\u00e9, Solol\u00e1, Retalhuleu, and Huehuetenango. These visits are important in order to monitor the instructors, training material, and overall quality of care. During the months of May and June, Aula M\u00e1gica also visited and researched communities in Huehuetenango and Solol\u00e1 where there is a severe gap in services. Aula M\u00e1gica hopes to establish classrooms and support these communities in the coming year. Aula Magica has also opened one more classroom in addition to the five they are already operating, In El Quich\u00e9. There are 15 children in the new classroom.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • July<\/b>: Excited to welcome an American videographer who donated his time to create a video featuring Aula M\u00e1gica\u2019s work in many different communities. We will be sure to share the video with you once it\u2019s complete! In July, Aula M\u00e1gica is also hosting their second training for 2019- we will share an update on this training in a few months as well.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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    AULA M\u00c1GICA SUCCESSES<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>
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    Aula M\u00e1gica welcomed a total of 215 children, spanning 22 different classrooms throughout rural, marginalized communities in Guatemala during this quarter. The students have successfully learned their colors, letters, numbers and even geometric shapes!<\/span><\/p>\n

    Quotes from the Aula M\u00e1gica Team:<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

    \u201cTo have children with educational knowledge and prepare them for their first year of primary school, is our greatest goal and mission\u201d <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cTo be able to provide preschool education in these remote areas, it brings us great satisfaction and a good challenge to our program, to travel to remote areas where this type of education does not exist and to see the benefit and success in each of our children!\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cWe are also very proud to have young facilitators who are leaders in their communities and who are learning every day, to assist in their communities and help to improve themselves professionally.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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    VISIT TO AN AULA M\u00c1GICA CLASSROOM<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>

    GoPhilanthropic\u2019s Program Manager Christina visited Aula M\u00e1gica in May and was invited to observe Senorita Astrid\u2019s classroom, which is housed in a room in the public library. Christina loved the colorful, active space and describes it below:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u201cThe difference between an Aula M\u00e1gica classroom and a classroom we might be familiar with in other countries is that the teaching materials are almost all handmade or recycled. With the exception of books, paper and crayons and some limited craft supplies \u2013which are handed out sparingly \u2013all of the teaching materials have been repurposed.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

    Christina also joined the classroom in a letter game, the students pointed out the first letter of their name on the wall and once everyone had identified their letter, they moved their tables for a craft project! The kids decorated their initials with leaves, recycled paper and cut-outs from magazines. This is an outstanding example of Aula M\u00e1gica\u2019s resourcefulness while also teaching the importance of recycling and sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The day finished with an audio guide and verbal quiz about the alphabet and shapes.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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    FROM THE COMMUNITY<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>

    \u201cI am very grateful for the chance my son has to learn his letters and his numbers here, before going to first grade. It is very hard for us to afford school and we want him to be successful if we are able to send him. Having been at Aula M\u00e1gica will be a big step forward for him in first grade.\u201d
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    \u201cI thank the Magical Classroom program because in this community there is no preschool for the children to attend and it is a lot of help for the children to succeed in primary school! I am proud that my children get the chance to learn different educational activities every day!\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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    SINCERE GRATITUDE<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>

    As you can see from the above, Aula M\u00e1gica has been very busy supporting the young kids and families of rural communities in Guatemala. We want to take this moment to thank everyone who partners with GoPhilanthropic and Aula M\u00e1gica. Your continued involvement in this partnership has helped transform the lives of so many kids in Guatemala who would otherwise not have access to pre-primary education.<\/span><\/p>\n

    We are so thankful for the endless compassion, involvement and trust in GoPhil and our global partners.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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    To show your support of Aula M\u00e1gica please SHARE<\/strong>\u00a0this post with family and friends using the links below, or\u00a0DONATE<\/strong> directly to Aula M\u00e1gica using the button below.<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>