Volunteer Teaching in Guatemala

Volunteers joining this project will typically work with children from the ages of 4 upwards concentrating on basic education and literacy. Volunteers with limited Spanish will be placed with younger children, helping them master all the classroom basics, from holding a pencil, drawing lines, to their first letters and numbers and may be required to assist in other classes with the older children from time to time.

For those volunteers with more advanced Spanish, you may be teaching older children in maths, language and sciences. Classes are structured and interactive with lots of different activities for them to master.

Six Great Reasons to Become a Smaller Earth Childcare Volunteer

• Work and socialise with staff from all over the world
• Learn a new language
• Live in the beautiful old Spanish colonial town of Antigua
• Make a positive impact on children from indigenous communities
• Play your part in helping the children receive their ‘passed’ certificate at the end of the year
• Without the help of volunteers many children would drop out of school after just a couple of years

Travel Opportunities

Guatemala is a fascinating country which has so much to offer the inquisitive traveller. Some of the best Mayan ruins in the world can be found, such as the mighty Tikal whose huge structures tower above the canopy of the rainforest in which it is situated. It is very easy to make time for the beach, perhaps on the beautiful volcanic sands of Monterrico, or for the more adventurous there are a whole host of volcanoes which can be hiked and provide breathtaking views. For relaxing, the impressive Lake Atitlan is always an easy trip, or simply resting in the beautiful colonial world heritage site which is Antigua.

What Difference Does This Project Make?

The aim of the project lies first and foremost in education, paying particular focus to literacy and educational reinforcement for the children of each community. What extra money the families have goes towards primary education for the boys, with girls are often being sadly neglected. Illiteracy rates are high and the standard of education for those that do go to school is low, with many having attended for just a couple of years before being unable to continue due to economic constraints or being sent to work in the fields. Coupled with this, there is a lack of knowledge in basic hygiene and nutrition. The aim, with the full support of the indigenous leaders of the communities, is to tackle these issues in many different ways through education

A substantial part of the fee goes towards the day-to-day running costs of the projects themselves throughout the year, which includes rent, electricity, local salaries, fruit and other food for the children, educational materials for classes, monthly birthday and other celebrations, painting and maintenance. The project currently pays for over 400 children to attend National School, as well as the schools ran by our partners on the ground. Of these, almost 50 children entered Secondary School and 8 entered College. Included in your fee is one scholarship per child, per year.

Thanks to volunteer donations and contributions, over 250 children in the San Andrés Itzapa project and over 150 children in the Santa María project now attend National School for half-days (the standard timetable). However, due to large class sizes, erratic timetables, and the lack of education among the children’s parents, reinforcement is of paramount importance, so the children receive their ‘passed’ certificate at the end of the year. The plan is to have all the children in both our San Andrés Itzapa and Santa María de Jésus programmes attending national school over the coming years.

Program Details

When it comes to teaching, our partners work very closely with the leaders of the communities, to the extent that they eat with them each day to discuss any issues. Before initiating each project, the leaders put together an idea of areas of education to be addressed, which include basic literacy, numeracy and education reinforcement; paying particular to maths and English. Further areas include Spanish grammar, geography and sciences. We have a Guatemalan teacher putting together basic lesson plan structures for the volunteers to follow and elaborate on so that the children receive the required education.

Volunteers have the option to take their own class or assist other volunteers until they feel they could take their own class. It is hoped that a new volunteer will work with an experienced volunteer for 1-2 weeks, with the aim to take over that class once the experienced volunteer has left. Each class size can range from 5-20 children, depending on the collective ability or the attention needed by the children. Lessons range from basic literacy and numbers to educational reinforcement, help with homework and English, games, sports and other activities. Full records are kept of each child’s progress on a monthly basis, to facilitate the volunteer changeover and allow continuity of the child’s education process.

Spanish Classes

Spanish classes are ESSENTIAL for those Volunteers with no previous Spanish experience and highly recommended for those who want to brush up on their Spanish language. Arrange these in your home country OR sign up for our Spanish course.  You will receive 40 hours of instruction at the beginning of your Guatemalan adventure, with the first week dedicated to Spanish Classes, practice and homework. After the first week, you will work full time in the community and finish off your classes after work, which gives you a chance to ask your teacher about words and phrases you have confronted whilst teaching. The Spanish courses available in the school range from beginner and intermediate, to advanced levels. The classes have an emphasis on grammar and conversation.

What's Included?

• All food and accommodation
• Teaching manuals, resource books, the Guatemalan curriculum and many other teacher resource books are available to volunteers
• Airport pick up and drop off
• 50 trees to plant
• One scholarship for a child to attend school for one year
• Pre-departure support 
• 24 hour emergency phone
• 24 hour in country support

What's Not Included?

• International flights
• Medical and travel insurance
• Spanish Lessons
• Spending money