Archives for October 2016

Before we go, we put together short bios for every team member. We have them translated into Mandarin and on Day 1, I give them to the orphanage directors. They have opened their doors to us; I feel like it’s respectful to let them know who they’ve welcomed in. When the directors read that a few of our team members had early childhood teaching experience, they asked me if they’d teach a class for the kids there that their staff teachers could observe.

Of course. We’d be glad to.

That is, I hoped they would be. I kind of giggled when I told them at lunch what I had said yes to. But, they didn’t mind at all. They were totally glad to.

Phew.

They joined forces, sorted through supplies we had brought and even supplies one of them had purchased as souvenirs at the pearl market. Somehow, it all fit together perfectly…you know…somehow. And, what happened today was a perfectly typical preschool lesson.

It started with circle time with a dollar store microphone and little picture cut outs.

Then, in small groups, the kids went around to centers where they played and we played and we talked about colors and shapes and numbers.

Followed by relay races using frisbees we had brought for gifts (and later used for that purpose) and little balls shaped like the world.

Two handed first.

Now one hand.

Hǎo bù hǎo.

Then we gathered again with a few more smiles this time than when we started. 5 Little Monkeys was read aloud in English and translated…though I’m not sure that was really needed. Some things are just funny no matter what language they’re in.

Apparently, “If You’re Happy and You Know It” is the same way.

The director told me later that day that the teachers liked it. They said they don’t teach like that, using games and play to teach children facts but that they saw how much the children liked it and that it worked to help them remember things more than just teaching them in traditional ways. They said they’d like to try doing some of that.

It’s already Day 4? I wish we could sit and have circle time with all of those teachers and encourage each other for a while.

Whenever I am having a bit of a low day, I’m going to pull this video up and play his rendition of Old Macdonald on repeat and everything will be a lot happier.

Feel free to do the same.

It’s one of the prettiest rooms in China I’ve ever seen. Shiny floors. Lots of windows. Bright colors. Music notes that light up on the ceiling. And a spot in the middle of the room where you can whisper and hear your voice echo. Front and center in that 4th floor music room is a baby grand piano and a full drum set. And, no one on staff can play either of them, so I was told.

During our tour on Day 1, when we entered this room and were all ooo-ing and ahh-ing, the director asked if any of us could play either. Not really was our answer.

But, on Day 3, some of the boys’ pleading and leading and “boom boom”s made Kyle cave.

Art class became a full on party as Kyle tried his hands at the boom boom. His bravery was somehow contagious because as soon as he was ready to stop, Jen sauntered up to the scene in humility and surprised all of us with this.

 

And, I thought the orphanage was the only thing that was going to surprise me. Silly me.

I knew it would be a stretch. But, I really wanted to try it. Drawing with two hands at the same time is hard, but it’s really good. Simply put, it makes both sides of your brain work together, a dialog that helps us more fully express and understand emotions and thoughts and has even shown to increase measures of intelligence and processing.

We showed the children pictures of trees from all over the world–including some from our own yards and those of some of their friends from the orphanage who have already been adopted. Then, we asked them to draw one of them using both hands at the same time.

Some said they couldn’t. Some said it was too hard. Some simply said no.

But we said hǎo bù hǎo, just try it. Yes, it’s hard, but just try it. See what happens when you try something hard.

And, most of them did.

And, it was good. As their brains were making firing away and making connections, we were also making connections. And, I stood back in awe, wanting a recording of the scene happening before me to be forever recorded in my own brain.

Maybe this week that started rough with lots of surprises and some new structure and rules that seemed at first would hold us back wasn’t going to be so bad after all.