For the past month and a half, the older girls of CSC have had the chance to experience "girls night". Almost every weekend, two girls are invited to my apartment for an evening of fun!
The event starts long before the weekend even arrives. On Monday after school the group for the week is told that they are invited to girls night. Their excitement is immediate, and only builds over the coming days. On Wednesday the girls are given menu choices. I have a variety of dinner dessert choices that the girls have the chance to agree upon, and then make. Many of the foods on my list are meals that are uncommon here in the Philippines, so I often have to explain what the meal consists of. So far, each group has chosen something that they have never tried before!
At 4:30 on Friday, the girls meet me at the guard shack. From there, we get a ride down the road to One Pavilion, a shopping center near my apartment. I give the girls a list, and they are then responsible for finding all of our needed ingredients. Once we check out, we make the trek to my apartment on foot. It has been fun to provide this experience for the girls, and have the chance to teach them life skills like cooking and grocery shopping. When we arrive at my apartment, I give the girls instructions on how to prepare the food. Everything we eat that evening will be prepared and cooked by the girls.
Cooking has been a joyful experience for all involved. Jonnalyn and Andrea enjoyed mixing up and frying meatballs. Jannice and Pretchy made some interesting choices in dessert (corn and cheese ice cream!!). Joanna Mae and Hannah devoured their tacos (they each had about 5!). Adelyn and Ven Ven went into a sugar coma with s'mores dip. Cheryl Mae and Sarah got messy kneading cookie dough.
The final event of the evening includes watching a movie. With these girls, it was no surprise to find my collection of chick flicks exhausted. Like any teenage girl, the girls of CSC are saps for a good romance movie...especially a Disney one! Watching their reactions to particular scenes has been the most entertaining part for me. Cheryl Mae almost started hyperventilating as the kissing scene in Pride and Prejudice approached, Jonnalyn giggled constantly during A Cinderella Story, and Janice melted at the romance in The Lizzy McGuire Movie.
With the rotation of teens finished, I can say that girls night has been a great success! I look forward to many more nights of fun with these wonderful girls!
Making Banana Que!
One of the things the kids love to do is cook! Here are a few pictures (taken by the kids!) from our recent cooking adventure with the Group 3 EPP class. Thank you Auntie Puriza and Auntie Jenalyn for all your help making this yummy snack! :)
A Few Favorite Pictures from the Week
This preschooler came to school sporting a hair style just like his older brother's!
I'm not sure what was happening with this next photo, but I found him lining up to go home for lunch wearing a swimming cap and goggles. I still have no idea why, but it was a fun photo!
This little boy is our newest addition to CSC. It took a while for me to get a smile out of him, but he's starting to warm up to me now!! I love this picture!
Just a few of the darlings you can find on our playground!!
And just a really cute moment, I caught on video! God is so good!!
Individualized Instruction
Individualized Instruction (aka I.I.) is a really cool thing that happens at CCHS. Kids who are identified by their teachers as needing extra support will get subject-specific instruction in a one-on-one setting during the afternoon. I am currently the I.I. reading teacher for a handful of kids, and here's what a typical day looks like with the students that I work with.
Reading...
Thinking...
Writing....
And being awesome!
Thanks for checking in on what's happening here!
On-site at CSC
My recent trip to Cebu was wonderful, aside from a little sickness and a run-in with some "stink fruit". If you have not tried "stink fruit" before, don't. It really does taste like it smells- awful.
I have known about CSC and worked with the organization for years, but I feel truly blessed to be a part of it as a new staff member. As I walked on the CSC grounds, I kept thinking about how excited I was to connect with what is happening in this little section of Cebu.
One thing I'm already proud of is how seriously we take the spiritual development of our children. One evening during my trip, I was welcomed into the Eicher home to join in on evening devotions. House father DonDon had already started, so I tried to sneak in the back and blend in. It didn't work very well, as I temporarily disrupted the discussion when the kids started waving and saying "hi Auntie Jill!" DonDon, however, quickly got the devotion time back on track. He was leading the children through a lesson about temptation and doubt. He shared that God has a plan for all of their lives and he talked about the need to trust God with the future. All of the children were really engaged and responded by answering the questions with confidence and by reciting scripture. As I sat there and listened, it struck me how much the staff at CSC care for these kids. They strive to meet all of their physical, emotional, educational and spiritual needs. Perhaps that is why you see so many smiling faces.
Shenanigans...
Truthfully, our kids are pretty special. Yes, you may consider me a biased informant, but I dare you to come here and spend the afternoon playing with any number of them and not draw the same conclusion!
We have some of the sweetest kids I have ever met. They are helpful, considerate, creative, athletic and energetic.
We also have some of the silliest kids I have ever met!!! I decided to highlight that side of our kids for you this week... Enjoy!
That face...
They are off to save the world! Watch out.... ;)
Such an impish smile!
His name is pretty much Mischief----with a capital M!
PEEK!
FYI, He was winding up for an overhand throw---I found that out after the picture was taken! ;)
Yes, he really is wearing the face of a pig!!!
Silly sisters!
And this one needs no caption...
Thanks for reading and caring about our silly, but precious children!
God Bless!