The two experts from EJE in educational games held a three-day training session in the Orthodox Youth Club in Beit Jala, near Bethlehem in December 2011 and beginning of 2012.
The participants were a group of 5 women from different ages and background, two of them are animators in the club, one from the administration and two are teachers for the kindergarden.
The aim of the training was to establish a small toy library in the club which will be accessible to children age from 6 to 14 coming from Bethlehem and Beit Jala cities.
The participants had no prior experience in these kind of games. The games were divided into popular wooden games and rules games. The games that were chosen are suitable both for individual use or for big groups. The training also contains a theoretical aspect to help the participants to understand how these games are beneficial for the personal development and well-being, and also how to manage such toy libraries, from both the practical and pedagogical point of views.
This was the first time that the training included the popular wooden games. These games come from different countries and were produced by EJE team in Bethlehem, using local products and high quality standards. For instance, the training introduced the “the touching box”, a game from France which is really fun, help breaking the barriers between the players and enhances your “touching” sense. For the rules games, the EJE team managed to present 17 games to the participants, allowing them to grasp the variety of such games. Some examples are Marrakesh; Abalon, Pentago. Although these games have a high educational value, they are not very well-known in Palestine.
The main methodology for the training is to make the participants play themselves and analyze the play situation.
The evaluation shows that the training was highly beneficial and appreciated by the participants. They stressed that this was a unique training and the most exciting training experience they ever had. Not only did they learn a lot but they also felt that the training helped them personally to feel something unique and empowering. Rania, one of the woman declared: “I felt I got my childhood back”. Another participant, mother of 5 children, added: “Although I have 5 children and that I was really exhausted, this was really worthy to come, even if it was during my holidays: I really enjoyed it and it made me think in a personal way”.
The participating animators also said that these games will be very useful to help the children to overcome some of their difficulties such as learning or social difficulties and that these games will help them to enjoy their childhood”.
The EJE experts team held regular training throughout the year to develop the culture of playing in the Palestinian community. If you are interested in hosting such training, please contact us at info@ejepal.org
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