Staff Blog

Every January at CCHS we have Sportsfest, a fun day of track and field events. The students sign up for their favorite events and all of CSC (including the toddlers and babies) gather to cheer them on!

Here are some reactions my Kindergarten class shared about Sportsfest.

Question: What was your favorite event during Sportsfest?
Kid 1: limbo
Kid 2: distance running
Kid 3: jumping rope and the 3-legged race
Kid 4: tug-of-war
Kid 5: sack race and egg toss

Question: Why did you like Sportsfest?
Kid 1: There are lots of games
Kid 2: I can play and have fun with my friends
Kid 3: We get medals as prizes
Kid 4: I can run and race with my friends
Kid 5: I can cheer for my teammates

Being a part of Sportsfest impacts our kids in many powerful, intangible ways.
* It improves their self-esteem and self confidence
* It helps them grow both as a leader and as a team member
* They learn to cooperate
* It helps them handle the ups and downs of competition

Thank you for supporting this ministry so kids can experience the joy of working together as a team as well as being cheered for as they try their best!

Preschool activities are always fun and exciting. Every week we have a different theme for our lessons.

Last week the focus was on vegetables and fruits. One of the activities we did was making vegetable soup and every preschooler helped prepare it! After learning more about vegetables the students, divided into pairs, were given different tasks. Some preschool pairs peeled a squash while other pairs plucked the leaves of a alugbati.

The students loved putting the vegetables in the big pot and watching it cook. Finally it was ready to eat! Every student got to have a piece of each vegetable in their bowl.

The eating time was so exciting for all of them except for one boy who didn't like the soup at all. Most of the preschoolers, surprisingly, asked for more. After the class I overheard one of the students say, "I really like the soup."

So much goes on every day at CSC and CCHS. Kids are comforted when they are scared or sad. Kids are fed (no small task when that means preparing over 200 meals a day). Kids are educated and encouraged to persevere when the lessons are challenging. And so much more!

Of all the things we do at CSC, what is our highest priority?

For the past month at CCHS we have been preparing for our biggest event of the year, our Christmas play. The teachers have been spending a lot of extra time to prepare the set, figure out the choreography, and help the students memorize their lines. The students have been practicing the 12 songs they have to memorize as well as the actions. Many hours have gone into preparing for this event. Why?

Our highest priority at CSC is for the kids in our care to learn about God, who they can tangibly see through our actions. 1 Corinthians 13 talks about how love needs to be the driving force for all we do or our efforts will be ineffective. James 1:27 directs this love, especially, to vulnerable children and adults. At the intersection of love and action is CSC.

John, a 9 year old boy who CSC recently rescued from living alone on the streets of Cebu, is part of our choir for the upcoming Christmas play. His first real glimpse of God is through the songs and message of this play. As he learns these songs about God becoming a baby because He loves us, John will experience the physical-ness of these words through the care he gets at CSC.

We are able to show God's love to these great kids because of you. Thank you for supporting this ministry so kids like John who have experienced some of the worst of life can sleep safely at night, knowing that God is always with them and tomorrow will be a great day.

"The Bible in the memory is better than the Bible in the book case."          -Spurgeon

Every week students at Cebu Children of Hope School memorize Scriptures assigned by the Bible Time Coordinators. Then we meet once a month for a whole school gathering to share the verses that the students' memorize and answer the Bible Trivia questions.

Memorizing verses in a group encourages our students and holds them accountable to really do it. It is always a joy to see their excitement in saying the verses independently or with the group. The teachers play a vital role in challenging them and coaching them, making sure they have the right words. For the entire month of October they memorized Psalms 119:20-27, learning two verses each week.

Our goal is for our students to keep God's Word in their hearts and for them recall the Scriptures they have memorized, claiming God's promises. As they go through life's challenges and joys our hope is for them to learn to praise God and thank Him for His great plans. They have been through a lot before coming to Children's Shelter of Cebu. Who knows what they have been through while they are here with us and will be going through when they move on to the next chapter of their lives. It is always comforting to know that God never leaves us nor forsake us.

Join us in memorizing Scriptures and let God's Word encourage you and remind you of how great is our God. Life is an adventure with a lot of choices to make. If we are deeply rooted in His word nothing should move us away from His will.

Teaching preschool learners is different from any other grade level at Cebu Children of Hope School (CCHS). There is a big difference from higher-level classrooms where you'll find profound discussions and group work to preschool's less serious, learning through play environment.

One of the lessons we had in Science was all about magnets. At our first meeting I explained to them how magnets work with the help of a flip-chart and an educational video. After, I showed them some magnets and how they attract objects that have metal.

The following day it was the time to apply what we had learned from the previous day. I gave them a checklist of objects. Together we found out if the objects were magnetic or nonmagnetic. The learners had fun doing the activity because they found out that not all objects are magnetic. Eureka!

To culminate the lesson we incorporated play into learning. The students went fishing! Yes, you read it right, "f i s h i n g." As what O. Fred Donaldson said, "Children learn as they play. More importantly, in play, children learn how to learn."

"Are you ready to go fishing?" I asked my preschoolers after we had a quick review about how magnets work and what they did yesterday.

"Yehey! We will go outside!" said one of the learners.

"Are we going to the Safari?" another learner asked.

I told them that we don't need to go outside just to do a fishing activity. "We will bring the fishing activity in the classroom!" I said and the learners giggled with excitement.

How was it done? Simple. I made an improvised fishing rod with the use of a ruler, yarn, and a magnet as a hook. And with the fish, I printed a fish template in different colors and attached a paper clip to the mouth. The science curriculum in CCHS helped me a lot in initiating the activity since it gives suggestions on how to enhance and apply the lesson in different learning areas.

At the end of the activity, Learner D caught 12 fish, Learner J and A each got 8 fish, and Learner L hooked 6 fish.

Who would have thought that learning about magnets could be amusing and insightful!