Romania, my dear country: landforms, regions and workshops in weaving and clay

Another week of the PlusKids summer programme came to an end, and its theme was Romania.

We learned the landforms starting from what you can actually see: mountain, hill, plain, water. We talked about the regions of the country, about the countries we border and about the sights worth seeing at least once. At this age geography has a well-known problem — it stays a list of names unless you tie it to something concrete — so every idea came with an activity, where the children had to place, match and recognise, not merely listen.

The loveliest part of the week was the hands-on one. We wove at the loom and modelled little clay plates. These are two crafts that demand exactly what an ordinary day never asks for: patience and a steady hand. At the loom you learn that one wrong row shows all the way to the end; in clay you learn that the material has its own rules and does not forgive haste. The children worked slowly, redid their work and saw it through — and at the end they held something they had made themselves.

Friday was, as always, party day at Summer School: our way of closing the week and one more reason for the children to look forward to Fridays.

That same day we announced the launch of our Cambridge English exam preparation centre, alongside the English courses we already ran. At the time we were the only centre in Măgurele with a CELTA certified teacher — the Cambridge qualification for teachers — and the courses were due to begin on 1 September, for children and adults alike.

From the following week onwards, the Summer School children also received two free hours of English a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, taught by our CELTA certified teacher. And week six, "Little artists — art week", was waiting for us on Monday.

About Cambridge English preparation courses at PlusKids: https://pluskids.ro/en/courses/cambridge-english