First week

Hello again,

Please forward my emails for me, as I am sitting in pitch black in a park where we could get an internet connection and yet again I don't have my notebook with me with all my email addresses!  Oops!

So I have survived almost my whole first week teaching.... as I mentioned before it has been quite a process getting it ready, with all of the shoes and storage and food and BUGS left in my room (see attached before and after pictures).... my kids are really cute and really needy, and I have a wonderful tia helping in my room in the mornings which I am so grateful for. (the first day was probably one of the hardest of my life, so they got me a tia by day two, and it helps so much to have another team member) I have some kids that are quite a handful, and it is really tricky trying to come up with materials to teach kids to read/write/etc. in Spanish... making copies here is quite a process... first there has to be electricity which cuts out about 90% of the time I would go to make copies.... then there also has to be ink and paper... which there hasn't been... then the director has to be there and available to approve your copies.... so needless to say I haven't been able to copy anything yet, so I think I will end up making copies of materials out of pocket this weekend in the city.  So far it has been mostly simple games, play-doh, puppet shows, puzzles, read-alouds, and tossing the beanbag around to talk about our feelings.  I also created an assessment to do with the kids, but since the copier doesn't work, I spent a good day copying each assessment by hand. :)  Things are soooooooo much slower here.  It is frustrating, but something I guess I will get used to.

My morning group (from 8:00-11:00) consists of 6 kids, more severe, with mostly moderate to severe mental retardation, but also one who is blind with cerebral palsy and a couple non-verbal.  I'm hoping to figure out some strategies to help them, as I haven't worked with kids this severe yet.  My second group of 5 is from 11:00-12:30, and seem to be mostly LD, but also pretty low, mostly 2nd and 3rd graders, but around 9-10 years old, who aren't able to write their names, name letters, etc. but have more capabilities then the rest of the group.  Then in the afternoon is mostly my behavioral kids and the ones who need total 1-on-1, so I think I will be doing a lot of social skills group, yoga group, and behavior plans.  I'm still working on my afternoon schedule though, as I still don't have any information yet on many of these kids. 

I will be setting a project page on the NPH website where people can go on and donate, and receive a tax write-off, so it would be great if you could spread the word, because classroom materials such as white paper and staplers are beyond the basics and out of the question.  I also am working with some really severe behavioral kids who need behavior plans, and the rewards/prizes could really add up.  It will probably take a couple weeks, but please spread the word. 

Dave is doing good working in maintenance, his Spanish is improving everyday.... he still is trying to get all of his "tool words" down...learning by his mistakes.... He is quoting now... he likes the guys he works with cause they get hooked up in the kitchen with coffee and fruit.  Okay I can't quote him right so I'm moving on.

I'll try attaching pictures but it may take a couple emails because I don't know how big the files are.  Okay, lots of love and miss everyone tons.  Lots of love.  And the mail does work, so you can send me mail!  xoxoxo

Kristin



New and improved special education classroom!

 

Have lots of these guys here (even a lot bigger), Dave caught this one in my classroom

Saludos from the DR

Buenos,

Writing again to say hello and update you.  Dave is coming tomorrow and I am soooooooo happy!  Things here are going well, but so slow paced, which I should have expected here in Latin America.... I came down one week before Dave so I could prepare my classroom but still have not been able to get in.... and youd never guess why.... one of the Detroit Pistons players is coming down to pass out shoes to all the kids... 1500 crocs... and every last one of them in is MY classroom of all places.  What can you do... the funny thing is the kids have never heard of the Pistons or the NBA so they really couldnt care less, other than that they are getting a new pair of shoes...

So in the meantime I have just been getting to know my kids by going around to all the different houses and talking to the kids and their tias... tias are like housemoms... it looks like I will have a group of 10 self contained in the morning, and do resource and pull out in small groups and one on one in the afternoon.  They all have very different reactions when I meet with them to tell them they are going to be working with me this year.  I have a few who run to me whenever they see me, jump into my arms, and tell me how many more days are left in the countdown until school starts because they are so excited.  And then there are a few who run the other direction.  One was in a full out fist fight when I came into his house and his poor tias were trying to hold him back, but finally gave up as he stormed out of the house with a crowd behind him to run across the field and find his victim.  He is 13 and Im a little apprehensive about how I will help him.  My students will range from ages 4 to 16, everywhere from blind to unable to walk to nonverbal to severely emotionally impaired to profound mental retardation to dyslexic.  And their Spanish is difficult to understand, if they speak at all, so it will definitely be a challenge.  But with a little love and creativity, hopefully I will at least reach some of them.

Other than that, I have just been hanging around the orphanage, playing with the girls and helping out where I can... and studying and practicing my Spanish.  Tonight we had a dance party in my house with all the girls, and then sat under the stars with 200 kids on the basketball court, and watched a movie projected onto a big white sheet.  I am hoping and praying tomorrow, if I am allowed to move the 1500 croc shoes myself, I can hopefully get into my dirty, empty classroom to start on trying to make it look like a classroom.  Right now other than the 1500 shoes, there are only a few desks.  If I cant, at least I will be able to go to the airport and see Dave.  Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary and it was so hard not to be with him.

Please keep in touch, and keep me posted on how things are going back there.  I will try to send pictures soon.  Please pray for the kids, and especially for their health as they have many diseases and some are HIV positive. One of the kids with AIDS died this summer, and it was really hard on a lot of the other kids and the staff here.  Pray that I will be able to reach them, and that I will have patience with the ones that are not so easy to reach.  And also, if anyone can get in touch with Sui and Lili to check in, I would be so appreciative.  I miss them terribly.  Again, please forward on this message for me as I dont have everyone in my address book. 

Love and prayers to all,
Kristin

PS The punctuation marks on this computer dont work, in case you are wondering about the lack of question marks and such...

This is what my classroom looked like after they "cleaned it out" for me :(

Arrived in the DR

Hello!

The internet is very slow and shuts down frequently so I am going to keep this short.  Wanted to let you know I arrived in the DR safe and sound Thursday night, and am doing well.  The heat is sweltering and the bugs are big and bite often, but the people and the children are beautiful and so kind.  I have been helping with a group of girls ages 9 to 12, who I will be eating with at meal time from now on.  Last night I was there with them for their devotional time, and they prayed... Thank you God for our new volunteer that has come to serve with us for a year, please keep her safe and healthy and take care of her so she can stay with us.  They are so sweet and just love and hang on you so much.  I already have a pile of pictures they colored me to decorate our room.

I have not been able to get into my classroom yet, but should be able to tomorrow, and meet with the school administrator and find out a little bit about my students, I hope.  Dave is not here yet and our room is not ready, so I have been staying at a different volunteer house, with volunteers from Germany, New Zealand, France, Haiti, Mexico, and Texas.  Everyone is really nice.  Cant wait til Dave gets here though, hopefully with a mosquito net, battery operated fan, and lots of bug spray.  Also, he will hopefully bring our camera so I can take and send lots of pictures soon.  Electricity is infrequent here, it usually only comes on at night, and the water is only one temperature, ice cold, but it is so hot that I dont think I would want it any other way.  Facebook is banned and my school account doesnt work, so this looks like this will be the only email I use.  So please pass this onto friends and fam as I cant access my address book or anyones email right now.  Keep in touch, and please come visit me!!!! 

Love,
Kristin