Staff Blog

“If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.

                                                                                                                      -Ignacio Estrada

Last December our topic in science was about the phases of the moon.  My science students were confused about how the moon changes during its phases. The phases of the moon depend upon its position in relation to the sun and earth. As the moon makes its way around the earth, we see the bright parts of the moon's surface at different angles. These are called "phases" of the moon.  Aside from discussing this, I wanted the students to understand through practical application, so I looked for an idea from the internet. We did an activity to illustrate the phases with the use of biscuits.

They were excited to eat the biscuits.

Another topic in science class was about water forms. Our activity for this was about plants in fresh water and plants in salt water. The students learned how some plants grow in fresh water and some grow in salt water. They learned about the differences between fresh and salt water.

They were happy to see their plants growing.

Learning and understanding takes place in the classroom setting and through experimentation and application.

-Rhasie Gantuangco, Instructional Assistant

Hi.  I am Junelyn T. Ababa, an assistant teacher in Preschool at Children of Hope School.  At the beginning of second quarter last September, we started our Pre- Kindergarten class for the kids who will graduate from preschool this school year.  This class prepares the children for the transition from preschool to kindergarten.  There are 6 kids in the class and I am one of the teachers in the Pre-K class.

The children learn pre-reading skills including print awareness and basic introduction to books and their parts such as front cover, back cover, title, table of contents, author and illustrator.  Basically, we talk about and point out these things every time I read a book to the children.  The kids have been able to memorize and master these concepts.  

Each day before we start our formal session, the kids have at least 5 minutes to browse books on their own.  The other day while they are browsing their books, all 6 of them turned their backs on me while each one was holding a book.  They started to act like the teacher saying, “This is the front cover. This is the back cover.”  They did this while pointing to each of the parts in their books.  I was amazed to see them doing this.  Since they can’t read, they just told the stories based on the pictures in the books they were holding.  It was so fun to watch and I chuckled to myself as they played teacher.

People enjoy music because it can be a way of expressing themselves, showing what they feel. Last week the CCHS kids expressed their God- given talents at a recital praise night. It was a very exciting and surprising night for everyone. The kids couldn’t wait to perform and were so excited for the program, even the smaller ones. As one student, Jhaycob, approached me he said, “Dugay pako teacher”? (How long will I wait?)

CSC staff, teachers, and other invited guests were also excited and wanted to hear what the kids had been learning in music class and lessons. Many of the children are relatively new to the shelter, so it was their first time playing an instrument. I can truly say that it was really something out of nothing. Earlier in the school year, the kids had no idea what music is all about or how to play an instrument. The kids were amazing as they performed their pieces in front of an audience. It was also an opportunity to really appreciate the effort of the music teacher teaching the students in order for them to play the different instruments. With proper guidance and training, the kids were able to show what they have learned with style. Everyone was entertained and excited, especially with the drummers.

What happened at the recital was not just entertainment. There is something that we need to ponder out of that event. It's really a good thing seeing our kids glorifying God with their talents. An example of this was Pretchy who composed a song about our Saviour, Jesus Christ and sang it for us. We're also glad to see them standing in front of many people with courage.

It is important for each person at the school and shelter to help build the kids’ courage because it is a positive attitude for them to have. The kids learned so much from the entire experience and we can learn from them as well. Music is pleasant to one's ear and it influences many people. We can be music also by touching others’ lives for God. As we inspire them, we're building up their courage. We can make a change in others’ lives if there is proper guidance. At the beginning, one takes a risk on how to teach the kids, but they will really excel if there’s guidance. And it was proven with our praise night.

God is working in our midst. He heals the broken hearted and blesses each one of us. Let us be music that touches others’ hearts.

-Abigail Oblianda, Instructional Assistant

Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran was the last story in our theme on Imagination in reading this quarter and it was the best story I have ever heard for this theme.  When I was reading before the class started, I was fascinated with how the children in the story enjoyed their childhood life and played all day with their neighborhood friends in a village they created from stones, boxes, and desert glass.   Even after the children in the story had grown up and moved away, they still remembered the make-believe village they had created so long ago.  After reading the story, I remembered my childhood days with my brother, sister, and neighborhood friends.  We did not create a village like Roxaboxen, but we played in the mansanitas tree, rode our bicycles, and ran in our neighbor’s garden taking the fruit and vegetables.  I wish I could go back to where I grew up, full of enjoyment and excitement.

Every child has memories of his childhood days.   After we finished reading the story in class, I asked my Level B2 students to share experiences from their childhood days.  They all shared about their life at the shelter.  Similar to my experience, they have not had a Roxaboxen, but they are very happy and enjoy playing with their friends at CCHS. 

In order to experience this make-believe Roxaboxen a little bit more, we made our own small town on a board filled with beads for stones in between houses drawn on the board. 

Everyone was so excited.  While we were making our own Roxaboxen, my students felt like they were in a real place.  They used their imagination to create a great Roxaboxen of their own.  Congrats kids!

Remember!  “Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.” So never stop imagining and dreaming.  God Bless!!!!

-Clayd Verzales, Level B Teacher

Morning Meeting!  This is one of the most popular activities in school that CCHS children look forward to.  Each level is given a slot every quarter to share what they have learned in SRA (reading and language arts) class through songs, poems, stories, and other activities. 

Level B1 students did a great job in their morning meeting last week.  They shared about kindness and sharing stories, the two most recent themes they had covered in reading.  There was a variety of presentations. 

One group of students shared a song about kindness.  

Another group told a story using hand puppets.  

One of the boys talked about sharing stories using a big hand-made book.  

The children ended the morning meeting with a dance about sharing.  

It was fun to see Level B1 students perform!