Staff Blog

Words and words, pages and pages, books and books!  The Reading Challenge brought out the inner readers in all the students.  They stepped up and buried their noses in books.

Classmates competed against each other.  They worked hard, reading pages and pages.  At the end of August the class winners were announced.

Each class was rewarded for their hard work with a new book.  Teacher Cris’ class was so excited for the new book that they read it as soon as they got into their room.

The students learned a lot.  Most of all, many students found joy in books.  The number of pages will be forgotten, but the love of reading and learning will lead these students through life. 

The children have lots of good people around them.  The children look up to the aunties and uncles.

Recently, Auntie Yayang suggested an idea to a few of the girls—a cute, short haircut.  The girls liked the idea, but had one condition.  They wanted Auntie Yayang to join them in cutting their hair.  She liked the idea, and could not say no to their persistent nagging.  Auntie Yayang did the honors of cutting the girls’ hair into a cute new do.  A few days later, she fulfilled her end of the agreement and came to work with a matching short haircut.  She knew better than to leave her hair at the mercy of a bunch of young girls.

It is cute to see how an auntie and children bond over a few snips of a scissors. 

After a day of learning in school and fun on the playground, the kids settle down for an evening inside the houses.

Suppertime is a busy time, with lots of kids around the tables refueling for the next day.  After the kids join the “clean plate club” by finishing all the food on their plates—even the vegetables, it is time to help clean up.  Some kids are assigned to sweep the floor, wipe the tables, and wash the dirty dishes.

Homework comes next.  The kids spread out around the house.  The dinner table is transformed into a big desk.  A few aunties take over as tutors.  Some kids like to do their homework in their room.  Some kids grab a chair and sit around the coffee table downstairs.  The school Reading Challenge has taken over homework time.

August has become “Reading Challenge” month.  For several years, the kids have an added incentive to discover the great books on the shelves in the library.  The kids actually do not have a problem taking advantage of the library throughout the year, but it is fun to create excitement for reading.  Each level has a reading goal appropriate for their abilities.  At the end of the month, totals will be tallied and winners will be announced.

After homework is done for the evening, it is time to play.  The preschoolers actually get to play most of the evening since they have less homework.  Crosswords, building blocks, animals, and much more fill the rest of the evening.

Finally it is time to put everything away and go to sleep, to be ready for the next day.

It takes 75 child care workers to give the hands-on daily care to the children. Diapers need to be changed, babies need to be held, meals need to be cooked, the homes need to be cleaned, children need to be read to, loads and loads of laundry need to be washed, and of course the playground is a very busy place after school.

Twenty-two workers have flexible schedules to fill in for other workers who are absent and to give one-on-one care for sick children and new children.

Several children have left for adoption in the past several months.  With vacant space in the homes, CSC has been admitting new children. When they first arrive, the new children need to be kept separate from the other children until cleared by the doctors to join their new home.  These children are not left alone, of course. A child care worker is always with them.

The one-on-one care is a blessing for the children. From the moment new children enter the shelter, love is given directly and specifically to them. In some cases this is a new experience for the children.

These are some of the child care workers who give loving care to new children from the moment the children enter the shelter. 

Most kids need encouragement to eat their vegetables. Some kids are always leaving the food they like less on their plate until last. Other kids just eat everything in front of them.

At a school activity I sat next to a boy who eating the last bit of his snack. I asked which one of the four snacks he liked the best. He said the one he was eating. He explained he liked to eat the least tasty thing first and work his way to the best. He ranks the parts of his meals and decides on an order in which to eat each part.

I smiled and nodded. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I do the exact same thing. Call us crazy, but that is how we like to eat.

It is fun to see how kids think. I wonder what I will learn about one of the kids today?