By 11a the place was empty........all the parents had their meeting, grabbed their children and headed home. Don't think I've ever been thru a first day of school that lasted only an hour :)Day 2 was more of a typical school day. Classes began at 7:50. For the returning children, it was excitement! They were getting to put on clean clothes, play with toys, watch educational shows, review what they learned last year, have a snack and enjoy a good lunch. Pretty much the same as in the states, except playing with toys, watching educational shows, snacks and a good lunch. For the majority of the children here, these things are luxuries. Only a few of the children have at least one parent that earns wages.
As for the children new to the program, it was anything but excitement. There were LOTS of tears!! For most of these 3 year olds, they've never been away from their mothers, and today was a traumatic experience (at least in their little minds). In one particular class, it was "all hands on deck". At one point, there were 6 sets of hands helping. Several of us had 2 kids on each knee, trying our best to comfort them. When I went and got my camera, many were ready for "poza" For a couple of the criers, it brought silence. One little fella, Catalin, stopped crying, but couldn't muster a smile for me (it will take him a week or two to get used to being at school). As I put down the camera, I picked up my Flip video camera. Of course, the kids wanted to see the picture NOW. As I scanned around the room, I encouraged the kids to wave - a few did on the first sweep, more joined in as I scanned back around the room. Watch the video and think back on when your children first started school - bring back any memories?Around 9:15 the kids are given mic dejun (breakfast). This consists of bread with jam, porc pate or salami, along with hot tea. Hot tea is an important part of their diet. Lemon was added in the latter part of the week. This, in an effort to keep the kids healthy. Just a note: we are looking for someone (invididuals or company) that would be willing to support this project financially - the cost is $500 a year to provide lemons to the kids. The lemons help the children's immune system fight off sickness during the winter months. If you or your organization would like to take on this project, please send your check to Another Child Foundation, 416 E. Dover, Princeton, IL 61356, and mark the memo line with "lemons for Point of Hope."
After breakfast, it was back to the classroom for more playtime, learning, and for the new students, more crying and attempts to comfort.
Lunch was interesting. The youngest ones were in the lunchroom first. They sat down to a bowl of soup and bread. When they finished, they were then given a piece of snitel de pui si cartofi piure (chicken snitzel and mashed potatoes). Most of them didn't know how to cut up the chicken, and used their fingers to eat. We began showing them how to cut their meat and use a napkin to wipe their face. One little boy cried all morning and came to lunch saying that we wasn't going to eat. Of course he had to sit down to the table, but he still insisted that he wasn't going to eat. When the class was ready to leave, his plate was clean (guess he couldn't let the others clean their plates without him).
The older (returning) kids came in after the younger ones. They sat down to the table and waited for prayer. After one of the boys said the Lord's Prayer, they began to eat. Everyone enjoyed their lunch!!!!
After lunch, it was time to change clothes and get ready to head home. Some parents arrive around this time to help their children change, then take them home. The others are given their clothes bag and are expected to change themselves. Help is given when needed, but the children pretty much take care of business. The clothes they take off are put back into their blue bag and then hung up in the correct locker. The children that ride the van are then taken into the cafeteria foyer area where they wait for Mr. Gelu. When the van arrives, they are lined up and walked around the building to the van. There they are loaded according to their drop off location - last ones are put to the far side of the van. It was fun to watch them being loaded, some unloaded, then put back on in the right spot.
Day one is over....................hope day 2 goes a little smoother:
And it did. There were a few less tears and more playing. It was also the first day of English classes for the two older groups. They had been learning left/right last year, so I incorporated that as a review. We learned how to say left/right, as well as hand and foot. Of course, you can't learn left and right without doing the Hokey Pokey. Thank you Dennis for playing your guitar for us!!! Afterwards, we learn to say " bună dimineața" (that's good morning) in Engleza. Not only were they learning to speak it verbally, but they also learned how to say it in sign language. The kids really like the sign language!
The rest of the week saw continued improvement in the children's acceptance of school and routine. Our first full week is done and I know all the teachers are ready for a weekend to decompress before tackling the next 37 :)
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| Teachers and staff at Point of Hope |
Next week...........after school program begins!!!
Note: I wrote this post last week and tried to load it on Friday afternoon. Unfortunately, my computer decided to start having "seizures" :(
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