On our recent trip to Daylight School my daughter Christina and I had the great privilege to teach in the class rooms for a week.

I am a Art teacher in Forest Lake Minnesota. I told the Headmaster, on the first day, that I hoped to teach in every classroom during our stay.

We had over 150 pounds of Art supplies in his office, but he still looked at me a little skeptically. I had met teachers Evans and Chistof when we first arrived. It turns out they are the teachers responsible for the “candidates.” The 8th graders who will be studying for their High School entrance exam through out the school year. Now having been in their classroom several times in our stay, I know these children’s are in good hands.

Along with Tom Gilaspy we spent the better part of two days talking about creative story telling and journaling. These two skills constitute a large part of the final exam they are preparing for. We also did a fun color theory Art lesson using the primary colors of yellow, blue and red. That the children had a lot of fun with and learned some hands on lessons.

Over the next several days I would check in with the headmaster to find out which classes I would go to and proceeded to teach in each one. Each day was a new and wonderful experiance. There are three preschool classes this year, full of eager learners, although one little girl did cry when she saw me. The teacher, Miss Rebecca assured me she would get over it, I am not sure if she has yet.

All of the teachers were extremly helpful. Each spoke Swahili and English. The helped communicate my ideas to the students and were as patient with me as they were with the students. Ruben and Robert and Sharon as well as all the other teachers are part of a unique community that are working wonders with limited resources. Thank you for letting us be a small part of Daylight School.

On the last day the Headmaster asked if we would be interested in eating with the students, I stood in line, got my bowl of rice and beans, a spoon was found for me and as I sat down on the foundation of the preschool/first grade classroom they gathered curiously around me as they ate their generous bowl of food. What fun!

Larry Underkoffler
Art Teacher