Staff Blog
Every year CSC children, 10-year-old and above, look forward
to summer activities. Summer activities schedule is in the month of May. This
year before January was over, the children approached me with a list of
activities they want to be in. I tell them to wait in February. I will have the
list of names of the kids who will be in the summer activities. In the list
they could also put down 3 activities they preferred by numbering them 1 to 3. Kids were so excited. They continued to ask
what activities were available to them. “Is there basketball?” Is there
baseball?” “What about music?” “Will we have the same teacher for music as last
year?” “Is swimming every day?” “Is it okay to have two activities to enroll
in?” Even the 9-year-olds and below were curious to know when summer activities
would be. The questions were usually “Is May after graduation?” “Is it far
away?” “When will it start?”
After the lists were out to the homes, the next questions
asked were “Who is in basketball or soccer or music or etc.?” Another one was
“May I change my activity?” “I like that activity, why is it not in the list?”
“I would like to be with so-and-so, may I transfer to that one?” When
confusion, agreements and activities were in place, thirty-six children were enrolled
in various activities this year. There are 3 in soccer, 8 in basketball, 1 in
table tennis, 7 in cooking, 9 in music, 1 in badminton, and 7 in swimming.
The other day, I was the watcher for basketball. Early in
the morning while I was up putting my bags at the child care office, one of the
girls asked if we could leave earlier than the time we were to leave. When
asked why, she said they did not want to be late. Their coach made them do push-ups
according to how many minutes they were late. So we did and we made it!
It was the first time I was watcher for basketball this
year. I was pleasantly surprised at what happened before lessons were started.
The head coach told the kids who were there to sit down, bow their heads and he
prayed for them and for the morning ahead.
After praying, he proceeded to talk
to the kids about discipline, practice and preparing for things in the future.
He told them Noah did not start building the ark when it started to rain. Noah
was ready with the ark and he was safe, together with his family, when the
rains came. He finished his talk and encouragement to the kids by telling them
to always practice what they learned, to be prepared, to do everything they
could to come early to basketball lessons. When they do that, the lessons they
learned will help them face difficulties, or trials that would come to them later
on. He reminded them not to forget God will always be there to help them if
they ask.
The Day After Christmas At CSC
Enjoy some smiles as the kids use their new Christmas gifts!
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4 Stars! (We do it right.)
We just got a letter in the mail from Charity Navigator, and we are celebrating. Charity Navigator's assessment of our integrity in finances, transparency and governance has led to a 4-star rating for the fourth year in a row! Just 9% of nonprofits can say the same.
We only do this work because people support us, and we are proud to use your money in a way that both honors God, and meets with the approval of places like Charity Navigator. Here's to four stars four times!
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Wrapping Gifts
Have you guys wrapped your Christmas presents yet? Already stocked those stockings? If you haven’t, it is still two days before Christmas so you still have time.
Right now, there are 84 kids at CSC which includes our Teen Home residents. That means, we wrapped 84 gifts and stocked 84 stockings. Whew! Honestly, it is a lot of work! And I have not even mentioned shopping for these gifts yet. But when you see the beaming faces of the kids when opening their presents, it is worth all the work.
I know you are all eager to see new pictures of cute little faces at CSC—whether at Facebook or in the website. But, for this blog, let me show you cute ADULT faces. Here is a glimpse of the behind the scene of the Christmas wrapping party—we call it a party just because!
Thank you all for your generosity this past year and continued generosity even for the next year. You may not be here with us during Christmas, but know that you are one of the reasons why we see cute little beaming faces at CSC everyday! Merry Christmas!
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Homework
Homework can be such a drag....even for the kids at CSC. And can I please get a refresher on genotypes? I mean really, who needs that in social work? I recently was asked, "Auntie Megan, do you know how to do this one?" A worksheet gets shoved in my face and I'm staring at a grid of four boxes with a few capitalized "A's" and a few lowercase "a's." Umm...no. I barely made it with a passing grade when I had to learn that years ago!
![20151209_183856[1]](http://www.urbanturkeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/20151209_1838561-e1449712296383-768x1024.jpg)
One
night recently, when I was on duty, multiplication was a prominent feature in the homework department. I was helping
one girl who was struggling with 2-digit multiplication. I actually
don't think she was having that difficult of a time, but was
more annoyed that she had makeup work due to missing class the day
before. So 2x the homework (see what I did there?) in one evening. But
together we worked through it...even after about 30 minutes of her
splayed out on the floor, crying, pushing herself and her chair outside,
or hiding under the table. Perseverance friends. When it was bedtime,
I had to convince her to stop, put the assignment away, and that she
would need to finish in the morning since she wasted time whining about
her homework. I think this was just a ploy to try staying up later.
The
next time I was in that house as bantay? Division here we are! This
was much easier and definitely faster. Other kids occasionally have it
easy and don't have homework. They tend to spend their evening hanging
out, reading, or playing games. Most of the kids are pretty good about
focusing, but there are still bouts of distraction and avoidance. Gotta
take the good with the bad and just try to make the most of it! So
here's to brushing up on my math skills and renewing my ability to find
patience and negotiate! ![20151209_191608[1]](http://www.urbanturkeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/20151209_1916081-e1449712310369-768x1024.jpg)
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Christmas Fun at CSC.
Nothing in the world is as much fun as Christmas at CSC. Thanks to all who help make this possible. Your gifts put smiles on many faces.
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