Good morning!
There have been so many changes in the past week, it’s been crazy! I started to teach, the classroom is finished, we received 4 new kids, 1 of those kids was taken out of our home and placed in a boys home because of behaviors, and we’re waiting on Delroy’s dad to come pick him up. CRAZY!! I’ll start with the school:
Monday was my first day of teaching, the classroom wasn’t finished, so I taught in the kitchen at Jake’s House (the new building that the boys sleep in and my classroom is in). That was difficult because the kitchen was about the size my room in Winona, and that’s with all the appliances and table…. Really small space to work in. On Tuesday a WONDERFUL group of women painted my classroom, and helped me move in my desk and all my school supplies. Wednesday was our first day in the classroom and Peter, Ian, and Quest were so excited to be in the classroom! Monday was a little rough in the teaching aspect, because I had to discipline the kids pretty much all day. The days have only gotten better because now the boys know what to expect and know the schedule for the day. Ian has ended up in his bed everyday but Friday, it sounds mean and terrible but he doesn’t like going to his bed and when he’s misbehaving the mention of going back to bed is the only act of discipline that works. On Friday it finally clicked in Ian’s head, if he mis-behaves he goes to his bed; it was nice having him in the classroom all day behaving. The boys really are wonderful; they WANT to be at Jake’s House School. They are so excited to join me in the morning to come to school, it’s great! I wish you could all see them. I’ll take pictures soon and upload them onto the website. If any of you have any suggestions on anything for the classroom, let me know, anything is appreciated :)
Wednesday was a very out of the ordinary day. We received 2 new kids, Deasha (8) and her brother Adrian (4). We were supposed to get Deasha’s twin brother, David, but he wasn’t with CDA (Child Development Agency – the people that deal with all the orphanages and adoptions). The 2 kids are so sweet and they listen, it’s wonderful! I can’t believe how well behaved they are since they came from a garbage dump (that was their “home” with their mom). Laura had to go to court for Deasha, Adrian and David on Thursday and court ordered that they live at our home till their medical needs are taken care of. Deasha and Adrian have fungus in their hair (nothing that I can get) and open wounds on their legs. David was at our house, but we decided he was to rough with the kids and refused to listen to any directions, so he left this morning at 6 am to go to a boys home. The 2 new kids are wonderful though.
Last night we went and got a new baby boy, Dion. He’s 10 months and he’s BEAUTIFUL!! I got lucky and got to rock him to sleep. He’s an emotionally healthy baby boy, he likes to cuddle and crawl and do everything little 10 month olds like to do. His mom didn’t want him, and his dad couldn’t take care of him because of how much babies cost, he wants him but can’t afford a baby.
As I have been writing this, Delroy’s dad has come to pick him up. He’s gone for good because of his behaviors and non-compliance with all the staff and volunteers. It’s sad that he’s back with his father, but he can’t be here for the safety of all the other kids that have been living here for a few years. We can’t save everyone, that’s Jesus’ job.
Alright, time for me to go, it’s my day off today and I’m heading to the beach. It’s going to be a wonderful time on my own :)
Love you and miss you all!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
teaching.... finally!!
Good afternoon everyone!!
It’s been awhile since I’ve written, but it’s only because when it’s cloudy we don’t get internet (we have a satellite dish). I was supposed to start teaching last Monday, but the doors weren’t installed so I didn’t get to. I’m hoping everything will be ready for this Monday. I’ve been taking each boy aside, while at school, and giving them assessments to complete.
Peter is far beyond any of the other boys. He’s supposed to be in 4th grade since he’s 10, but he’s too far behind his peers for him to be successful at a primary school. He can read, write, and do simple math problems. I’ll be focusing on more difficult word blends for him to read and life application math, like time and money.
Quest is also 10, but he’s never been to school because he has cerebral palsy. He can walk and talk, but he walks with a gait and it’s hard to understand what he’s saying since he talks so soft and without expression. It’s hard for Quest to hold pencils, markers, and crayons so I’ve found larger pencils, markers and crayons for him to use. He cannot write letters since it’s so difficult for him to grasp the pencil so we’ve started him writing straight lines and circles (he’s REALLY good at the circles) so he’ll be writing the alphabet in no time J He also doesn’t know numbers – he can count but he can’t name the numbers. I’ll be working on letter and number recognition and writing with Quest throughout the year.
Ian is 6 but is also very delayed because of his traumatic past. He can’t recognize the alphabet or numbers, either. He can sing the ABC’s and count to 15 but misses’ letters and numbers. He’s only been at school at Robin’s Nest for a year and never got any positive learning experience at his house before he came here. I’ll be working on the same things I’m working on with Quest, with Ian, letter and number recognition and writing.
Ion is 10 and has never been at any school because of his cerebral palsy. He is a really bright boy as he understands what I’m telling him and he can follow through with most of the directions I give him as long as he’s able. He cannot walk and is in a wheel chair but loves when I put him in his walker, he walks all over the house and the front yard with a little assistance on my part. He can also scoot around the house when he’s not in his wheel chair. He also cannot talk, but when he wants something he will give the biggest smile and if he doesn’t want something he knows how to shake his head “no” but rarely does. I’ll be working on communication skills by using pictures for him to point at, work his fine motor skills with him to loosen his hands, and strengthening his legs by getting him in his walker to walk around.
Delroy is our “special case”. He’s an 11 year old but looks like he’s 6. We got him a few weeks before I got here and he has reactive attachment symptoms (as do all of our children, but since he’s new he’s very difficult to manage) which makes it hard to enjoy his presence. We have decided to send him with our male driver for the day to give Delroy a positive male role-model and when he gets back I’ll be one-on-one with him teaching him letters, numbers, and helping him to write for a few hours before supper. Hopefully this setting will help him and he’ll be able to succeed.
Please send up a few prayers for us:
- Thanking God the school is almost ready and the boys are VERY excited for me to start teaching them.
- Thanking God these children have a safe place to live and go to school.
- Strength for me to be able to teach all these boys at such different levels.
- Open minds for the boys to learn and teach me what they need to know.
- God’s love would shower down on all the kids.
Don’t forget to send me encouragement. It would be lovely to get e-mails with stories, Bible verses, anything really!! DanaEPO@gmail.com
I’ll write again soon…. Hopefully I’ll have taught the boys a few days :)
It’s been awhile since I’ve written, but it’s only because when it’s cloudy we don’t get internet (we have a satellite dish). I was supposed to start teaching last Monday, but the doors weren’t installed so I didn’t get to. I’m hoping everything will be ready for this Monday. I’ve been taking each boy aside, while at school, and giving them assessments to complete.
Peter is far beyond any of the other boys. He’s supposed to be in 4th grade since he’s 10, but he’s too far behind his peers for him to be successful at a primary school. He can read, write, and do simple math problems. I’ll be focusing on more difficult word blends for him to read and life application math, like time and money.
Quest is also 10, but he’s never been to school because he has cerebral palsy. He can walk and talk, but he walks with a gait and it’s hard to understand what he’s saying since he talks so soft and without expression. It’s hard for Quest to hold pencils, markers, and crayons so I’ve found larger pencils, markers and crayons for him to use. He cannot write letters since it’s so difficult for him to grasp the pencil so we’ve started him writing straight lines and circles (he’s REALLY good at the circles) so he’ll be writing the alphabet in no time J He also doesn’t know numbers – he can count but he can’t name the numbers. I’ll be working on letter and number recognition and writing with Quest throughout the year.
Ian is 6 but is also very delayed because of his traumatic past. He can’t recognize the alphabet or numbers, either. He can sing the ABC’s and count to 15 but misses’ letters and numbers. He’s only been at school at Robin’s Nest for a year and never got any positive learning experience at his house before he came here. I’ll be working on the same things I’m working on with Quest, with Ian, letter and number recognition and writing.
Ion is 10 and has never been at any school because of his cerebral palsy. He is a really bright boy as he understands what I’m telling him and he can follow through with most of the directions I give him as long as he’s able. He cannot walk and is in a wheel chair but loves when I put him in his walker, he walks all over the house and the front yard with a little assistance on my part. He can also scoot around the house when he’s not in his wheel chair. He also cannot talk, but when he wants something he will give the biggest smile and if he doesn’t want something he knows how to shake his head “no” but rarely does. I’ll be working on communication skills by using pictures for him to point at, work his fine motor skills with him to loosen his hands, and strengthening his legs by getting him in his walker to walk around.
Delroy is our “special case”. He’s an 11 year old but looks like he’s 6. We got him a few weeks before I got here and he has reactive attachment symptoms (as do all of our children, but since he’s new he’s very difficult to manage) which makes it hard to enjoy his presence. We have decided to send him with our male driver for the day to give Delroy a positive male role-model and when he gets back I’ll be one-on-one with him teaching him letters, numbers, and helping him to write for a few hours before supper. Hopefully this setting will help him and he’ll be able to succeed.
Please send up a few prayers for us:
- Thanking God the school is almost ready and the boys are VERY excited for me to start teaching them.
- Thanking God these children have a safe place to live and go to school.
- Strength for me to be able to teach all these boys at such different levels.
- Open minds for the boys to learn and teach me what they need to know.
- God’s love would shower down on all the kids.
Don’t forget to send me encouragement. It would be lovely to get e-mails with stories, Bible verses, anything really!! DanaEPO@gmail.com
I’ll write again soon…. Hopefully I’ll have taught the boys a few days :)
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