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When I went there for the first time, my patrol planned activity that younger generation can play like tossing crumple aluminium balls into a numbered bowls. Due to their management of their strength some of them did not really want to participate but some of them also enjoyed putting he balls in the bowls . One of the other problem was the language barrier so even if they want to play, I cannot explain to them. Nonetheless, on our second visit, we add some more simple activity like singing. Language barrier was still one of the problem but I tried to show them more slower on how to play the game on our second visit and I think they really enjoyed our second visit. ~Lili

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I loved working with the elderlies. Although some of them were unwilling to do the activities at first , after persuasion they enjoyed the activities very much. I was very afraid to talk to the elderlies at first, but after some time when I got used to the situation ,I started opening up and talking  to the elderlies. Working with the elderlies , they were mostly friendly and willing to talk and share their experience with us. I learnt to have patience with the elderlies because at a old age, they would take a longer time to do tasks or understand the rules of certain activity. This experience was definitely a very meaningful one. Seeing the elderlies smile, I felt a sense of accomplishment .it was a very enjoyable time with the elderlies. ~Eileen

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during my time at the old folks home,I had a lot of fun talking and playing with them even though some of them did not speak english,we still could use some of the hand sign to communicate with them,i remember having a great time with them,playing card game and talking about their lives in the elderly home.i learn that even thought some of the elderly were in different races,we still could get along with them very well  ,i remember we were playing a uno game and lucky one of the elderly there knew how to play and it was great as she could explain to the rest of the elderly the rules of the games as they did not know what we were trying to explain to them.after a few round,they really enjoy playing and wanted to play more but unfortunately we had to leave and say our goodbyes ~Amanda

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At the Old Folks Home, i had lots of fun! I interacted with them and i really enjoyed it. Although they dont understand English, i asked my friend which is the same race as the elderly to translate their language. The first time when i went there, we played games. My patrol played jigsaw puzzle while other of the patrol played different games such as bingo and more. The second time i went there, my patrol and I didnt played any games but  we drew out pictures for them to colour. They really enjoyed it so much. There is one incident where the elderly fought with each other for colour pencil. I tried to stop them from fighting and they stopped it. Eventually,I overcame them by staying calm . Working with elderly was really challenging as i was not used to it. After spending time with the elderly people at St. John's Home,  we went back to school. I really had lots of fun with the elderly.~shahirah

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At the old folks home, I faced a few challenges. One of those challenges was that I could not communicate with the elderly because I did not know how to speak their language. Fortunately, my friend could easily communicate with them. We did many activities with the elderly such as jigsaw puzzles, colouring and singing. I was glad to see the elderly enjoying themselves. I hope we get to visit them again.~Filzah
Qaisara

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After going to the Old Folk's Home twice. I started to empathise them. as they are at an old age, probably between 60-80 years old. I enjoyed communicating and participating to activities we prepared for them I hoped they enjoyed it like how I did. My parents were at that age where they are weak and old ,they start to forget things. Before  I went to the old folk's home I could not understand the Symtoms they were facing because of old age but now that my parents are nearing/are seniors citzens of Singapore I stared to understand why they face this problems or what they would face in the coming future.

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St. john home

Going to the saint john elderly home was like a field trip to us but once we reach the old folks home, we were really really scared to talk to the elderly but after the teachers convincing us we had to try to be friendly with them. We played games and found out that actually the old people really liked this game we invented. We went together we the ncc and they did things like origami and I think there was also colouring. We did have fun but also at the same time had many problems like elderly who is deaf another that cannot speak and a few speaking in hokkien which we didn’t really know or to even say a word communication was really hard as we could only converse in simple malay, Chinese and English and maybe some Indians speaking their language. But the best thing we got from this trip is the smiles of the elderly as we played games together with them sung the 1900’s songs that they loved and did many things and more importantly keeping them company as being in the old folks home they cannot talk to other people except the other elderly that were in the old folks home. I guess we can say that we had learnt some thing while communicating with them like the stories of when they were young and how to be with an elderly like being with your grandparents.~christine

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Having younger students around and teaching them skills and traditional culture was rather difficult due to the age gap, gender as well as difference in race and religion. However, while researching on the activities we chose for them, I gained new insights on different cultures and learnt to be organised when planning. I learnt that with the right mindset, and the organising of activities and most importantly, patience, definitely helped me in handling children. This experience is definitely helpful for career or volunteering activities that I plan to take up in the future. ~ Loh Wan Jun

I faced a lot of challenges working with the kids at PPIS as most of them were playful and impatient, they would not pay attention to the instructions and often wandered off. Eventually, I overcame them by staying calm and reminding them to complete the activities given, and that their break would come sooner if they cooperated. Over the few sessions, I had learnt how to work under pressure and not lose my cool. Working with children really did pose a challenge to me as I was not used to it, but I ended up enjoying the sessions as it always end with the kids being happy when they received praise upon completion of the activities, and furthermore getting prizes.~ Callie Ng

During our VIA project at PPIS, I have learnt quite a lot of things throughout these sessions. Although it was tough handling the small kids, we managed to interact with them and know more about them. By the end of the day, our effort worked off as the kids were attentive and pay attention when necessary. I think our effort paid off as the kids looked happy with the artwork that they produced. ~ Nur Sefiah

The guides session with PPIS was quite good. We did calligraphy, kolam and dancing with the children. They enjoyed the activities even though the kolam activity was quite messy. I think I can improve on these activities by planning activities that are less messy or placing newspaper on the area we did the kolam so it is neater. Overall, I think that the activities were quite enjoyable and the children learnt things about the cultures from the different activities. ~ Erika Lastimosa