How to Learn Without School Supplies

As we visit schools in Africa, we are regularly impressed by the creative methods utilized by teachers to educate their students! Today we want to highlight a few of the unique learning methods we have seen in our travels around Africa, even in areas without the means to purchase or receive traditional school supplies.

At the completed Bondo Primary School in Malawi, we spotted homemade weather instruments constructed using household items.

Shown in the pictures above are a windsock, a weather vane made of cardboard, and an anemometer made of used plastic bottles.

Teachers rarely have access to more than one chalkboard, so they often hang concepts they are currently learning from the ceiling. At a potential project in Ghana, we noticed letters hanging from the ceiling, and at the previous campus of Kabuthu Primary School in Malawi, we noticed geographical landmarks written on pieces of cardboard hanging from the ceiling.

Before we began construction at Kabuthu Primary School in Malawi, we spotted a drawing of the water cycle on the outside walls of the building!

And finally, some teachers in Africa write important concepts on slips of paper which they hang on trees outdoors. This is called a learning tree. Check out this video taken before we began construction on Kabuthu Primary School in Malawi.

We are continually impressed by the students and teachers in Africa and the desire and creativity they apply to their education! As we continue to help African communities construct new classrooms, we know the new classrooms will allow teachers and students alike to cultivate the creativity they already have in order to make a difference in the world.