Play time

Saturday's are my favourite time with the kids. That is the time when I can hang out and have fun with the children without having to think about what they're learning or what new skills they're learning. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching both in a group and one-to-one but the fun activities we run on Saturdays are when you really get to know the kids. 

The first Saturday doing something other than my normal schedule we spent the morning at Jubilee home painting nails. The girls LOVED it! They showed me their nails every time I saw them for the next 3 days! The best part of the morning was painting the ayah's (India caregivers) nails. They do such a difficult job, some of them 24/7 and rarely get enough recognition. It felt great to do something for them to show them how much they are appreciated by everyone here. We also took the children in wheelchairs for a walk. I have been working wih Bells on moving herself in her chair so the walk was a great opportunity for her to practice. She did so well but was exhausted but he time we got home.

Another Saturday highlight was spending time with the girls at Joy home. They have so much energy and are great fun to hang out with. We painted their nails, then they painted mine! Such a mess but they were so proud of themselves. We also had fun playing in the park opposite their house then relaxing with a film.

Saturday's always make me think about the amount of time spent doing school/therapy with kids. In other places they would not get any of this and I am so pleased that SCH recognises how important education of some sort is for all these children. But sometimes I forget that they need time to play and have fun. I appreciate that they are not all working all the time but many of the children do not know how to play. Many have been institutionalised prior to coming into our care and need to be shown what you do with a toy. They have lost so much already that as volunteers we have to make an effort to give them their childhood back. So this week I will spend more time listening to the children, more time holding and feeding baby dolls and playing with toy cars because play is important too.

Here are some of my favourite photos from the last couple of weeks:

Sunrise on the roof

Finished castle

Going to church- a bigger culture shock than coming to India

Hungry caterpillar lessons

Spelling/building a tower, depending of your point of view

Finally, on Monday I took Bella into the classroom to see what she could do. She is very strong but doesn't do much physically. I decided to try standing her up. I put her on a chair near the window, put her feet in the right position, put her hands on the bars then pulled her into a standing position. I was expecting to have to hold her up but I didn't need to! I did this every day last week and on Thursday she didn't even wait for my help, she pulled herself up! I am so proud of her! Can't wait to see how else she will surprise me.