Volunteer Program at Pelita Insan Pembelajar (PIJAR), Tambak Madu IV, Simokerto Batch 1 Group 10 - Second Meeting
Volunteer Program at Pelita Insan Pembelajar (PIJAR), Tambak Madu IV, Simokerto Batch 1 Group 10 - Second Meeting
Surabaya, 25 April 2026 — Six students from Group 10 Batch 1 of the Early Childhood Teacher Education Study Program (PGPAUD) at Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA)
Surabaya, April 25th, 2026 — Six students from Group 10 Batch 1 of the Early Childhood Teacher Education Study Program (PGPAUD) at Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA) once again conducted a volunteer program at Pelita Insan Pembelajar (PIJAR), located in Tambak Madu IV, Simokerto District, Surabaya. The activity, held on Saturday, April 25th, 2026, marked the second meeting of the volunteer program.
This volunteer program was organized with the aim of providing enjoyable and meaningful learning experiences for children around the PIJAR institution. Considering that mathematics is often regarded as a difficult and intimidating subject for many children, the PGPAUD UNESA students designed innovative and creative learning approaches to help children enjoy and understand both basic and advanced mathematical concepts without pressure. Through a learning-while-playing method, mathematics was expected to become less frightening for learners ranging from early childhood students to junior high school students.
At this second meeting, the learning theme focused on the development of mathematics education. The university students divided the participants into two major groups based on age and educational level. The smaller group, consisting of early childhood students up to Grade 3 elementary school students, received lessons on basic mathematics adjusted to their cognitive abilities, including number recognition, addition, and simple subtraction. Meanwhile, the larger group, consisting of Grade 4 elementary school students up to Grade 3 junior high school students, received more complex mathematics material according to their educational level and learning needs.
The activities began with an energetic ice-breaking session through a game called "Up, Down, Boom." This simple yet effective game successfully created a lively atmosphere and raised the participants' enthusiasm from the very beginning. Through this ice-breaking method, the volunteer students successfully created a warm, enjoyable, and conducive learning environment so that the children felt comfortable and ready to receive the mathematics lessons. Laughter and cheerful voices filled the room during the opening game, indicating that the approach chosen by the university students was highly effective.
The highlight of the activities came when the university students introduced their main game called "Bee Ladder," a creative modification of the traditional snakes-and-ladders game combined with mathematics questions. In this game, the conventional board was transformed into a "Bee Ladder" board where every player whose token landed on a box containing a bee symbol had to complete an educational challenge by answering a mathematics question. For the smaller group, the questions focused on basic mathematics such as addition and simple multiplication, while for the larger group, the questions were adjusted to their educational levels and learning needs, including algebra, geometry, and more complex arithmetic problems.
The "Bee Ladder" game received extraordinary enthusiasm from all participating students. Curiosity and healthy competition among participants made the atmosphere increasingly lively and dynamic. The children appeared highly motivated to answer every mathematics question correctly, not merely because of the game itself, but because they genuinely enjoyed the learning process. The volunteer university students also actively provided encouragement, guidance, and appreciation to every participant who successfully answered the questions, creating a positive and motivating learning environment.
After the "Bee Ladder" session ended, the activities continued with a material review session led by the volunteer students. During this session, the participants were invited to recall together the mathematical concepts they had learned and practiced throughout the activities. The university students patiently re-explained important points from the lessons while also giving the children opportunities to ask questions whenever there were concepts they still did not understand. This review session became an important moment to ensure that the learning objectives had been achieved and that the children's understanding of mathematics had improved.
The second meeting of the volunteer activities concluded warmly and memorably by singing the song "Sayounara" together while performing cheerful hand movements, followed by a group prayer as an expression of gratitude for the successful completion of the activities. This closing moment not only symbolized the end of the day's activities but also strengthened the emotional bond between the volunteer university students and the participants at Pelita Insan Pembelajar (PIJAR). The children's smiles and laughter became clear evidence that the volunteer activities had provided a significant positive impact on them.
The volunteer activities conducted by Group 10 Batch 1 PGPAUD UNESA carried profound meaning for both the university students and the participants at PIJAR. For the university students, this activity became a real laboratory where they could apply the knowledge of early childhood education learned during lectures into real-life practice. Meanwhile, for the children at PIJAR, the presence of the volunteer students provided fresh, innovative, and enjoyable learning stimulation that increased their interest in knowledge, especially mathematics, which is often considered difficult and boring.
Through this volunteer program, the students of Group 10 Batch 1 PGPAUD UNESA hoped to continue making real contributions toward improving the quality of children's education at Pelita Insan Pembelajar (PIJAR) in Tambak Madu IV, Simokerto, Surabaya. The program was also expected to inspire other university students and educational institutions to continue innovating in creating learning methods that are enjoyable, creative, and suited to children's needs. With the spirit of "learning while playing," the PGPAUD UNESA students strongly believed that every child possesses great potential that can be developed through appropriate, caring, and joyful approaches — and this volunteer program became one real manifestation of that belief.
