Staff Blog

Friends are great!  It is wonderful to know that someone is excited to see you and spend time with you.  You can share stories, ideas, laughter, and so much more.

Within the past two weeks, six new children of arrived at shelter.   They are excited to be here, but also a little apprehensive about the who will be their friends.  Luckily for them, all the other children know exactly what it is like to be the new kid. 

The older girls in Cherne home were having a hard time waiting for their new housemate to come out of isolation.  She had a cough and needed to wait a couple days.  The girls would sit on the stairs to the infirmary and get to know the new girl. 

When she finally was given the all clear to join the home, she was accompanied by her new friends to her new home.

Sometime adults worry about how younger children will get along with each other.  One of the new boys has an older sister.  She is in school all day and he is preschool so he is only in school for a couple hours.  Will he be all right without his sister by his side all afternoon?

With the help of his new friend on the left, there are no worries.

The adults of CSC show love to the children and teach them trust.  Sometimes the adults forget just how much the children can do for each other.  The love and care for fellow children just as important.

Pray the children will continue to share love with their fellow children.  Pray the new children will settle in and make friends.  Pray all the children will be able to feel God’s love for them—whether it is from an auntie or uncle or fellow child.

Teacher conferences about the students are different at the shelter.  The teachers meet with the house parents and child development team to talk about the academic progress of the children.  I like hearing about the progress and growth of all the children.  The teachers have great insights into the children.  And of course they also have some funny and heartwarming stories to share.  Here are a few for you. 

This girl asks the teacher each morning, “What are the things we need to do this morning?”

She is a little teacher, helping explain the lessons to her other classmates.

The teacher says this boy “brings happiness into the class.”  His house father gave him a math word problem on day, “I give you one banana and one mango.  How many fruits to you have now?”  He answers without missing a beat, “Fruit salad!” 

Five students are in the pre-kindergarten class, getting ready to move into kindergarten next year.  They are learning about animals and their babies.  Dogs have puppies.  Cats have kittens.  Pigs babies are piglets.  One of the kids asked the teacher, “What are baby fish called?”  This boy answered the other student, “Fishlets!” 

This student remembers previous topics and connects them to current topics, sometimes interrupting the teacher.  He tries spelling out new words to himself as the teacher is explaining the meaning.  He is enthusiastic about learning and knowing things. 

She does not like holidays because she likes school.

The teacher says, “Her presence makes class enjoyable and challenges other students.”

He is kind-hearted and caring toward his classmates.

She is eager to share her ideas and answers, sometimes before the question is read.  It is hard to answer correctly when the question is not known. 

Many days he can be heard offering help to a classmate, “Let me help you.”

“Her interest in everything in school helps her tackle difficulties.”

The reading challenge just finished and this girl did not win.  Her teacher overheard her say, “The winner, she reads so fast.  I will win next year.”  She is striving to improve.

Science class started learning about natural resources.  This student raised her hand concerned, “What are we going to do when they run out?”  She knows the right question to ask from the beginning.

Here is some of the students' work from the first quarter.  Enjoy!

The Reading Challenge is finishing up tomorrow!  The children have been reading, a lot.  Many of them leave school will a stack of books in their hands.  The total number of pages read is staggering.  Keep reading!

Recently, Children of Hope School emphasized nutrition along with the rest of the schools in the Philippines.  There are some many benefits to eating healthy foods.  The children learned many things from the basics of what foods are healthy to why some foods are good for you and some are bad for you. 

Enjoy this song from two of the students!

Steps can be big or small and both big and small at the same time.  Baby steps are big.  Sometimes big kids make slow, hesitant steps.

There are always babies at the shelter.  First steps for a baby are always achievements.  Eyes are full of concentration.  Hands are doing all they can to balance and anticipate a fall. Feet are planted with a shakiness and uncertainty.  These steps are so far from mastery of balance and coordination, but they are some the biggest steps this child will take in the entirety of his life.  Congrats to him!

Big kids can make big steps in ways that might fly under the radar.  At CHS graduation, all the students received an award for some achievement or contribution.  They ranged from Best in Math to Most Helpful, from Best in Music to Most Cheerful.  The Most Improved in grade 4 went to his boy.  He had put in a lot of work this past year and it was bearing fruit.  He is more than capable, but lacked motivation and direction at times.  His teachers have helped guide and challenge him.  They expected more from him and he stepped up!

The Most Improved student in grade 3 was a girl who arrived at the shelter part way through the school year.  The shelter, school, everything was new to her and it was overwhelming.  At times when things in class got difficult, she would just stop participating.  Slowly over the second half of the year, she opened up and felt more comfortable.  She stepped out of her comfort zone!

Thank you for praying for all the steps, big and small, that are taken every day.