The after-school program is so.....what's the word? Cute! I guess would be the best description. The children blow me away! They are so into it! Learning English. It's interesting too b/c most of the children that come, come right from school. They come for another hour of learning. And they seem to love it! I think of kids here and imagine saying, "Hey, wanna come after school for another hour and learn Spanish?" I can't imagine any kids having an interest in that. Such a different perspective! We get about 15 kids each time.
We start out by giving them a snack and putting nametags on them (until we learn their names). It's so cute, Otto and Owen help me pass out the snack and juice box. They know the routine now! They help me collect the garbage too! Then Aaron reviews with them the past words they've learned. We got them all their own notebook and pen to keep a list of vocab words. We review using different methods, "Around the World" game, playing "Simon Says," shouting it out in unison, etc. Aaron taught them the song "head, shoulders, knees, and toes" to introduce body parts! They like to do that song! Aaron really gets them going fast and they all laugh and giggle! During the games, we give a piece of candy for right answers (you know the big bulk bags of cheap candy?), well they love it!
It's so interesting b/c we used to have youth groups (with teenagers of course) but b/c that's my frame of reference, I can't help but compare. The kids we used to work with in youth group came from decently well-off to very well-off families. They were difficult to please, entertain, etc. The kids we are working with now are happy with so much less. It's so interesting. We don't even do anything super exciting or dynamic and they keep coming back. They are happy with a
cheap little piece of candy and a modest snack! And the biggest difference I notice is their gratitude. They say thank you all the time! And their faces just read appreciation! I'm so not used to it and am so blessed by it!
After review, we do new words, practice them a bit, and then review ALL the words one more time! Depending on the day, we also play a game. But lately as we add more and more words, we've been spending that time reviewing, sometimes through a game!
A couple times we've had a helper who speaks English and can help with words we get stuck on or have a hard time explaining something. But most times we do not have that!
It's fun! We usually have 2 or 3 teenage helpers who are learning themselves and can help with the little ones. We get about 3 or 4 preschoolers. The rest of the children are mid-elementary age. Sometimes Aaron is trying to explain something and the helpers figure out what he's trying to get the kids to do so they jump in and explain in Spanish. It's helpful! LOL It really challenges our Spanish and we notice improvements, more so with Aaron but a little with me too! Yay!
Originally we wanted to each do our own smaller group. Aaron would take the older kids and I'd take the younger kids. But it's too difficult having my children and also having on
ly one room to meet in. They are adding on a room to the church building so maybe when it's done I can take my kids and the little kids to that room and teach more to their level.
I'm also blessed by how it seems to be affecting my own children! They love going to Mexico! Everyday they ask if it's a Mexico day! They love to go and play with the kids. They are learning Spanish too! Often times we bring clothes and other things and they are learning about sharing our stuff we don't need or use anymore with them, like our strollers. They were bummed to give them away but conceded willingly after I explained we were giving them to kids who need them. "Ok!" they said. The other day a little boy was wearing a pair of Owen's old shoes. And he recognized them! Great learning opportunities. I love it!
This is the bottom of the utility closet. He and Otto crammed all the stuffed animals they could on and around Oe. They played in there for hours, calling it their "fort". There was a little cubby like this in our 1st apartment in Guatemala. The boys loved playing in it! :-)
