New kids

Today was a free day in the preschool
The kids love getting out all of the toys.

New Kids:

Gorge enjoyed the cars so much...
he tried to take them home.
His peers explained the rules
and Gorge agreed not to steal from the classroom

 


Jorge's sister, Genesis, cries until she gets into the classroom
Then she has fun!

Donny and Gabriel were new today
This is also the first photo they have ever seen of themselves.

 



New girls drawing together

Myley had a clean diaper today
 

Familiar Faces:

Milagro loves the village



Samuel was busy with big cars



Cindy is getting so big!
She never cries anymore

Yesterday I promised the kids they could have a free day to play with all of the toys today.  They sit every day in a class full of toys and focus on learning their numbers and colors, but we haven't had a day yet for them to just dig through the toys and play.  I chose Thursday because Fridays we usually have a larger group and I thought Thursday would be more manageable.  But guess what?  School was closed today, so we had a TON of kids.

This week some Moms have been showing up with their kids.  We have had to explain that the Mothers can wait out by the gate, but the kids do better if the Mothers leave and let the kids be on their own.

The preschool kids are starting to get the hang of things.  We pray with the big kids.  Then we walk in a nice line to the classroom door where (mostly to practice counting, but also to get everyone's attention) I walk down the line, tapping each of them on the head, and we count how many kids there are.  The kids are finally all counting together.  Today we had twelve kids.  But Memo thought we had 13, so we counted again to be sure.  They enjoy counting loudly.

The two brand new boys could not believe they were allowed to play on the rug.  They didn't even need any toys to entertain them.  They rolled around on the rug saying, "Que rico!" over and over.  Apparently rolling on the rug felt really good to them.  It appeared to be a new experience.

All of the kids did an excellent job sharing and playing together.  They had a wonderful time with no prompts at all from me.  I gave them a five minute warning, and when it was time to clean up they did a great job!

We were lined up at the door to go eat when Memo pointed out that Gorge, a new boy, had stuffed his pockets full of Matchbox cars.  Gorge was trying to take the cars home with him.  I sat down next to Gorge and explained to him that this is OUR classroom to share.  If every person takes the toys home we won't have any toys left to share in the classroom.  Gorge seemed to understand.  Memo burst in saying he doesn't steal from the classroom.  (I realize it has to be REALLY hard for them not to take things home with them.)  I asked Gorge if he could promise me that he would not take anything from the class or from the church.  Gorge assured me that he would not take anything home with him ever again.  I believe him, but I'll keep an eye on him too.

I love that the kids see the classroom and the church as something they want to protect.  They make me proud.  I told them we had a really great day and we will definitely play again soon since they were so good at sharing and putting everything away.  They asked if it will be tomorrow?  When I said no they didn't seem too disappointed.  I think they like the more structured days too.

So long self

Remember a long time ago when Lourdes sat down with me and talked to me about the things I needed to work on?  I was able to thank her yesterday.  She told me she could see big changes in me!  At the time I thanked her for having the courage, love and desire to challenge me to change myself.  She told me that I was so busy protecting myself and building walls that I was limiting myself to only shallow, safe relationships where I was never vulnerable.  She challenged me to give people a chance.  I remember feeling terrified about the idea of opening myself up to people.  The idea was so scary I cried.

But look at me now!  I am so grateful for her feedback.  I am grateful that I was able to hear it in the way she and God intended it for me.  I am grateful that instead of criticism, I was able to hear and see the love that Lourdes was sharing with me.  She was genuinely concerned and wanted a better life for me.

I will miss the Sarmientos when they move to the US.  But because Lourdes confronted me about areas where I needed to grow, I will not be as alone as I might have been.  I will always have their support and now that God has helped me open my heart to friends, I will have the support of many others.

At the same time that I am thankful to Lourdes, I am also thankful to each friend who stuck by my side while I was learning about friendship.  I am extremely grateful to God.  While I did put forth effort to change in the ways Lourdes suggested, I know only He can make the changes that occurred in my heart.  I pray that I will continue to grow in my love for others, continue to keep my heart open and vulnerable, and continue to listen and learn when others speak to me in truth and love.