Tuesday

Today was another great day with the staff and kids. We started the day
with each of us doing a training with the teachers. The original plan
was to implement the activities in the afternoon with the children using
some of the ideas and concepts that we had discussed in the morning
session. Well, it was such a gorgeous day that we decided to take a
walk outside of the immediate grounds of the orphanage. Just next door
was an open field with tall grass and COWS. We decided to ditch the
afternoon plans and take the kids on a "walking field trip" to get them
outside for a bit. Since we have many teachers here from other
provinces it allowed us to do this with almost a 1:1 ratio to ensure the
kids were safe and having fun. It gave us such a great opportunity to
explain and demonstrate how important expanding the experiences that the
children are exposed to. Lots of the kids were very excited to be going
for a walk and once they saw the cows, they were "moo-ing" and labeling
the cow and wanting to feed them. It was so very cute. Of course, some
of the kids were much more cautious, had a bit of fear of walking on the
uneven surface and were afraid of touching the grass. By the end of our
time down in the field many of the kids were touching the grass and
becoming much more comfortable in this new environment. We explained
how important these types of experiences are for the kids.
Coincidentally, one of the teachers had read the story "In the tall,
tall, grass" in the morning and made a craft following it. This gave a
chance to explain how reading about grass or learning about cows, make
little sense if you have never "experienced" walking in grass or seeing
a cow up close and personal. I am so glad we deviated from the
"schedule." We then walked back to the orphanage with the kids and took
them to the playground. This gave us a chance to observe and interact
more with many of the children. There are a few children in the program
who have been matched with their families and are waiting for them to
come pick them up. Let me tell you, they are some lucky families
because each child is cuter and smarter than the next. We were also
able to spend some time with the young babies and speak to the Nannies
taking care of them. The really know a lot about each baby and take
time to learn about their individual personalities. The flavor of this
entire orphanage is that of warmth and caring for these kids. I have to
say it is because of the way that the Director cares for the kids. Like
they say, it starts at the top.

I am having a great experience, learning far more from speaking to the
staff and working with the kids than I can share with them. I miss my
kids like crazy but have spoken to them each morning and each night. I
hear it snowed AGAIN in NY and I am not sure that made them happy or not
 . I think that THEY are even done with the snow at this point. They
sound like Nana is keeping them busy and I "hear" that they are
behaving…let's hope so LOL.

Anyway, that's it for tonight, pictures in the next post if the internet
cooperates with me.
More now than ever, I want to sing the praises of Love Without
Boundaries. There Education Program is making SUCH A HUGE impact on the
lives of these kids. If you are ever looking for a charity to donate
to, PLEASE consider LWB, I assure you ever single penny helps to improve
the lives of these kids in so many ways.