As we mentioned in a previous post, a group of UNC Wilmington education students traveled to Ethiopia over the winter break to teach in several different Addis Ababa schools as part of an international field experience. Each of the schools provided them with a different lens on how education is delivered such as private versus publicly funded. But no matter what the setting, flop balls were a hit.

We didn’t have a chance to do a flop training for the group before they left, but we provided them with the flop kit materials - decks of cards, the flop games guide, and the flop kit guide with tips on how to introduce flop balls and integrate them into the classroom. That was enough to get them off and running. From the reports we heard, the flop balls were fun for the students, but more importantly gave these new teachers a needed level of comfort with students from a different culture speaking a different language.

Here's what they had to say about their experience flopping:

"Flop Balls were a great educational tool, it helped bridge the language gap between UNCW students (future teachers) and Ethiopia students. We may not have understood each other but by the smiles on our faces you knew that we enjoyed Flop Balls." April Pulcini, UNCW Student 

"Flop Balls made a language barrier nonexistent! I plan to use Flop Balls to build a sense of community in my classroom. I love Flop Balls!" Delaney Rudolph, UNCW Student ‍

"It was a great way to communicate with the students and connect with different learners. I can see myself using them in the future in morning meetings, in science, and math!" Sydney Marenick, UNCW Student ‍

We look forward to working with more educators and future educators so that students (and teachers!) can continue to benefit from the mental, physical, and social benefits that flop breaks provide.