Working with the kids

The kids here love to do crafts. When they behave, one of the treats that I can help give them while I’m here is a little creative craft escape. Early in the fall we did hand stamping projects. They were used for a fundraiser and food-packing event. The kids loved doing them, and I think they appreciated that they were able to participate in something that will help all the kids. They were eager to stamp their hands and fingertips to help create several vividly colorful pieces.

The next project we worked on was to make a pumpkin patch for the orphanage. I am greatly missing the seasonal changes that are absent in Haiti. Especially fall. So I drew about a hundred pumpkins on white paper and we had the kids color them, hand stamp them, and use cut pieces of tissue to glue on them to create their own custom masterpiece pumpkin patch. It turned out amazingly awesome and it gave all of us who are here and deeply craving the fall a little taste of what we’re missing.

We were asked to takeover the pre-school class one day and substitute for a teacher who was out. Knowing that this was huge task, as those kids are total bananas, we decided to work with them on learning to spell their names. We let them tear tissue paper (which they LOVED)!!! Then they traced each letter by gluing the ripped pieces of tissue paper over the letters. Their use of color was amazing!! Not one single child chose to only use one color. They balanced their use of shapes and colors rather impressively, and they all went to that happy “zen” place that I love so much when I’m in the creative process.  Once their awesome work was finished, we looked around at an utterly trashed classroom, and I decided that the best way to utilize the remaining pieces of ripped up paper was to have the kids glue them on balloon shape drawings. Once everything was assembled and dried, we cut out the balloon shapes and attached some curling ribbon to the bottom and stapled the days work up on the wall so that they will continue to enjoy and maintain the pride for their accomplished works. I drew a small man to attach to the ribbon. He looks like he is being pulled off the ground by the floating balloons. It was a good day in pre-school land.

Another day that we were asked to substitute, we did a lesson on landforms with the older kids, as well as a game of Bingo with the younger kids. That was a fun day.  The younger kids had never played Bingo before. It took a few minutes to bring them up to speed, but once they grasped the concept, they had a really good time playing! Each time a kid won their game, we let them choose from a prize bag of left over holiday candy. It was neat to see them respond so well to a new activity. The older kids got to create a book using a landforms print out. We used encyclopedias and talked extensively about the shape of the earth, climate differences, elevation, and how the world is different in all of its parts. The kids had previously learned that they live on an Island, but they got to explore deeper thought about how one can travel around the Earth and about how different it might be to live in different parts of our planet. It was a busy, but good day.

Now that we are nearing the next holiday, Thanksgiving, we have started working with small groups of kids on a Turkey project. We talked a little bit about what Thanksgiving means and why we celebrate it. We cited examples of what people eat to observe this holiday and we made a fun Turkey craft! The kids were so excited to jump right into this project that not a single one of them wanted to hear the directions on how to assemble their turkeys. The result is that we have an amazing variety of turkeys!!! I’m excited to continue to work in small groups to finish up this project and put the remainder of the turkeys on display before the holiday.

One of the things I’ve been working on here is to make a designated place for honorable mentions. I would like a prominently displayed area for the kids to be recognized. This can be for working hard in the classroom, coloring a really neat picture, or even making a small craft. I started by painting a small ledge and space in the wall outside of the office. Next I will decorate it and design an award that can be printed to give the kids. I would love to see this space utilized on at least a monthly rotation. I think the kids will really enjoy knowing that their hard work is being shared with all who come here.

Another way I’ve tried to help out while I’ve been here is to help stage some fun monthly photos for adoptive parents. We are always so thankful for any glimpse of our children. However, being here and having a little extra time on my hands, I decided to get a little creative. I found a felt beach scene that must have been left here by a vacation bible school group. I put Jesus and his gang aside and decided that this background would make a perfect match for a small blue inflatable kiddy pool that a mom left behind for my daughter to enjoy. We threw in a yellow striped beach bag, pulled a pair of small sunglasses out of a rabbit’s hat and voila! Our monthly photo updates were fantastic! People were asking if we were lucky enough to have a beach outing!

One month for our photo updates I made two faux wooden frames out of cardboard and painted them. The kids who like having their photos taken were very excited and knew in advance which frame they would use for their photo. The others gave the typical stink face that communicates how much this process sucks combined with the fact that they’re becoming the teens that will rage against our mini van machines for the next few years. Either way, the frames were awesome and it was well worth the numb thumb that I had for nearly four weeks after cutting the cardboard with safety scissors. It will make a great story one day. “Hi kids, you may not like me right now, but know that I was willing to live in Haiti, at one point in a tent, and cut cardboard with safety scissors for you!” They won’t care about what that all means for a long time. But maybe one day…maybe.

In addition to finding a creative outlet for the kids, we have also been working on ways to reward kids for good behavior. We’re hoping we can get the Lord of the Flies aspect of the O under control. Friday night movie night has been one of the ways that we can give the kids a little incentive to behave throughout the week. Between popcorn and a little juice, a small screen and a huge speaker, we’ve had about thirty kids packed into one of the classrooms to view movies. The LOVE it!!! It makes for a long day, but it is very much worth it!

The Baptist Mission in Fermathe, Haiti is also an opportunity we’ve taken advantage of. The kids absolutely love going there! There is a small zoo, a café, a shop, a bakery, a museum, and an awesome play area that has been built in the shape of Noah’s Arc. We took a group of kids up the mountain one day to treat them for their awesome behaviors that week. Not all the kids were able to go, which is hard, but it was a great example for them to see that their behaviors can be rewarded or punished. It was also a great way to change their environment and give them a break from the institutionalized lives they live. There were lots of smiling faces that day. They played for over an hour and then we took them for pizza and ice cream.  While we were at the Baptist Mission, I decided to buy a wooden trunk. I’ve had my eye on them for a while. So I decided that it was a “treat” kind of day and I bought one. The kids rode in the van, and I rode with Kelly up and down the mountain in a tap tap. We hoped the whole way back that the trunk would not go flying out the back. Luckily, it made it back to the apartment. Now I just hope that it will make it home by surviving the airplane. That would suck. It survived Haiti. Please let it survive American Airlines.

I love working with the kids. After spending my week teaching all ages in 2012, I have been very happy to have small creative chunks of time with them while I’ve been here. I’m working in a far less formal nature than I did before. We aren’t talking about balance and composition. We aren’t discussing the color wheel or Mozart. But we are having fun when we can.