Colombia: Day Two
The day began a humid and sunny day in La Mesa. Navigating along the bumpy and dirt road to the Francisco Julian Olaya school, only five minutes away from my grandparents house. To our surprise, many more children arrived for today's class. Once someone new came in and got situated it seemed like another would arrive shortly after. This great turn out was exciting but also intimidating.
I started the day off with a review of yesterday's lesson so that the new children would have a chance to catch up. I went over the alphabet and numbers with the games that come along with it. I decided to mix things up with an introduction the song "BINGO." The old catchy tune that sparks childhood nostalgia.
Two years ago a boy named Johan was part of our 2013 Chicos and Kids English classes. His mother was worried about letting him attend our classes and unsure if he would be able to socialize with the other children. We made sure to make Johan feel included with the other children. His learning disability prevented him from speaking correctly. Today, that boy was replaced by a talkative and light-hearted Johan. I was very surprised to find that he still remembered what we had taught him two years ago. I am honestly so proud of his intellectual and personal growth. These are the types of stories that motivate me each and every day.
Unfortunately, there was a conflict on the soccer field between Bryan and Juan David. It was later resolved and the two apologized to each other. We want to teach our students how to resolve problems and forgive those who had been hurt.
At the end of recess, we gathered everyone up to take our essential group photo, looking back at our previous group pictures it is crazy to see how many chicos we have taught these past five years. In am so thankful for all the support and help we have received in order to make Chicos and Kids happen.
