2-7-2010

Lemar't carrying his birthday present around with him all the time.

The twins were playing tickling with each other!

Yesterday, I finally felt much better after resting a lot for a few days from being a bit ill. The kids, however, made it all easier for it. Jhosmelyr and I have been growing in our relationship, and she is being so positive and good lately too! I am so happy she is being more stable emotionally. She came to me all the time and gave me hugs, and told me she loves me. I was so touched when she said that, and I told her I love her too! Just before dinner started, I went to greet my favorite boys, Lemar't and Jhonatan. While Jhonatan wouldn't let go of my hand, Lemar't was requesting kisses from me. It took a long while before I could get going. In fact, I didn't want to leave them if only I could have dinner later. Jhonatan has been doing so well, and he has been growing intellectually and mentally. He is so funny too, like everytime when he saw me, he would say something funny in his squeaky voice, such as "me toca?" (which means, "my turn?") or "vacuna?" ("vaccination?") when he saw my finger with a bandage on it. And he loves me praising him.

It's hard to believe that it is July already! Today just before I took off to Lima and after lunch, we celebrated the birthdays of Brígida, my fellow psychologist, and one of my favorite kids Moises. It was really cool as usually the celebration takes place after dinner, and so it was a treat to do so in the afternoon because I wouldn't have been able to celebrate with them since I am in Lima this weekend.

27-6-2010

José Luis just finished a mouthful of milk powder!

Lemar't enjoying the canchitas!

José Luis too with a handful!

Jhonatan was so concentrated on enjoying the canchitas and sitting on my lap.

Today supposedly we were going to the church in the morning, but Lemar´t and the twins were left in the home, so I chose to stay with the three of my favorites her! We played together, and then I made popcorn and got a bottle of fizzy drink for us to share. It is always nice and fun to share food with them. There was a funny moment when I went to my room to get something, they ran and followed me, and eventually got up the stairs and entered my room! The three monkeys were running around, jumping on mine and John´s beds, and it took a while to get them all out! I gave them some milk powder to eat, which was one of my favorite ´food´ as a child. They all loved it, thus obviously have the same taste as me. Eating milk powder isn´t that popular in most people´s thought, but somehow I just love it, and so did they. Although they could be a handful, I just love the quality time we could spend together. They were also extremely funny, like while Jhonatan held my hand and tried to take me somewhere, José Luis would pull his nagging face and asked me to get him, in the meantime Lemar´t would yell really loud to get my attention. And they all wanted me to carry them at the same time! That´s only can be done when there was only one there, and I would take them to play swing, take a walk or simply carry them around. Naturally, there were a lot of kissing, and I would tell them that I love them.

While I have been doing therapies with a lot of kids, I don´t want to forget the really good kids who actually deserve some attention to facilitate them to do even better in the future. That´s why I started a group with the three kids who have most potential, and they are extremely great kids too in many aspects. Today was the first session with Moises, Leticia and Milagros, and they had no idea what was this for. I explained to them that they have a lot of potentials and prospects to do well, and I would like to help them achieve high goals. Of course, they do need more stimulation like imaginative skills, decision making skill, analytic skills, as well as qualities that are yet to be learned such as being proactive and believing in themselves more. They are indeed the best kids in any places, responsible, respectful, polite, hardworking, smart and kind to everyone. I really hope that I can facilitate a bit more and help them achieve their goals and dreams. And we had so much fun today with all the activities that we did. I am looking forward to them blossom!

26-6-2010

José Luis pulling his funny nagging face!

Jhonatan screaming through the window, "Tío Ryryan", and showed me his pirate boat.

Renzo made a bike from clay putty by himself!

The twins were just too cute and too sweet sometimes! I feel like that they really see me as a very close family member. José Luis, for instance, has recently been nagging me to stay with him. If I went away, he would nag and pretend to cry! Jhonatan has always been sticking with me a lot. He, on the other hand, would yell my name until the end of time! Actually it happens to many kids as well. Jhosmelyr, for example, has been hugging me and looking up for me. This morning when I was having breakfast, the kinders passed by, and she saw me and told me Joanca had done some bad things! It was hilarious! She really cares about what I have to say, as a couple days ago she pushed Marcos, and she did the same last week to Joanca. So I told her I wouldn´t forgive her this time as it was the second time in the week. She was so sad, and in fact it was hard for me too, but for the sake of teaching her, I had to be tough about it. When they were all in bed getting ready to sleep, she tried to talk to me, but I told her, ¨I didn´t want to talk to you now!¨ Immediately she covered the blanket over her! It was quite funny actually at the time, and tia Sonia and I couldn´t help but giggle! Of course, the next day I was already talking to her, but I also reminded her not to cause any damage to others. So now she has been telling me what others do!

I have scheduled a few therapy sessions in the weekends I am here, and today I had four with the boys individually, including Ademir, Luigi, Renzo and Jeferson. They were really awful in the group session a few weeks back, so I figured that they aren´t ready for group work yet. Individually they did great and behaved like angels! And I think also that since the last horrific group session, I told them off seriously, and since then I didn´t do any therapy with them. So they were all pretty excited to do therapy again and therefore probably tried to behave better. There are a lot of skills they are lacking, such as basic cognitive skills, language, imaginative skills, positive values, just to name a few. I tried to do my best to facilitate with various activities so that they can take advantage of what I can do for them.

24-6-2010

My sweet Jhonatan covered in paint. He gave me a tag on mine and Cristina´s faces too!

José Luis was just as cute as a teddy bear! He actually looks like one!

Alonso was having fun with one of the teenage boy from the Rustic Pathway group.

Jenny, on the other hand, was freaking scared of strangers. I was sitting with her here and paint with her.

I went to the kitchen and made some popcorn as reinforcement during therapy. Walter was helping in the kitchen and helped me with it. He is a really good kid, very responsible and helpful all the time. After we were done, I asked him to take some, but he refused and told me that he has more food than the little ones and told me to give all to them. I was so touched, and this kind of things makes me feel immensely worthwhile to be here.

In the afternoon, a group of American teenagers of a group called Rustic Pathways came and played with the kids. They played with the kinders and babies today. I was helping out with the kinder group, so I went with them to paint. At first, they all painted quietly and properly, but after a while they started putting paints on their hands, and pretty soon they put them all over their faces! They loved it, although it was a bit messy. Jenny was very intimidated the whole time, though I never realized that she has problem with strangers as since day one she seemed very happy and sociable, at least with me. So I spent most of the time with her, and helped her paint and play. As they were all covered in paints, we went back to the room and they went bathing. While the Rustic group was still here, Jenny cried really hard as she was feeling a bit insecure. So I took her out and went to play with her in the playground. She started calming down as we were alone together and she felt more secure. So I brought her back to the baby´s room where she was supposed to finish her homework. She gave me hugs so tight that hardly could I depart from the room. She is just the sweetest girl, and I should pay more attention to her and help her with her sense of security.

14-6-2010

Lemar´t wearing a playdoh crown we made together.

Julio on one side of a see-saw.

While Claudio was on the other side of it!

This morning I finally had the energy to do some laundry, as I had been feeling unwell last week. Though still recovering, I felt much better and also those dirty clothes couldn´t wait anymore! While I was washing, I heard a loud clear voice, and only Julio has this powerful but sweet sound! Then he ran towards me and reached the fence by the therapy room, which is just next to the laundry area. We greeted each other with a ´hola´ and a big smile. While he took off, Claudio came and greeted me as well! I couldn´t help but went up and gave him a kiss on his forehead. Julio saw that, and came up again and asked for a kiss. This kind of small but precious moment makes me feel worthwhile to be here. And it made me feel so warm in such cold winter season the southern hemisphere.

Another beautiful and one of the sweetest moments was how the kids did today in therapy. I remember in the beginning, they would run to the therapy room, explored all the toys and played with them carelessly, or jumped into the pool of balls and made a mess everywhere! It was really tough work then, and it took a lot of teaching positive behaviors and values. But today, Franklin, Alonso and Marcos ran to the therapy room ahead of me just as usual. But instead of making messes, they lined the chairs that I usually did myself, sat neatly together and was waiting for me. It really warmed my heart and I am so proud of how they behave so well now! I love all of them dearly!

13-6-2010

Lemar´t was sharing some milk with Jhonatan.



José Luis holding a declaration banner from school.


The twins eating some biscuits at the plaza after church.

Franklin was eating some too!

After church in the morning, Jhonatan came up to me and held my hand, and then we took a stroll around the plaza while everyone just hung around before heading home. We stopped by a food stall, and I bought some biscuits and juice for us to share. It´s very rare that I have some time alone with just one kid, and this is a perfect time to do so. I think it is a good and important thing for these kids to have personal attention and make them feel special.

In the afternoon, some of the kínder kids had families visited them, including Lemar´t, Jhosmelyr and Samanta. I was particularly happy for Jhosmelyr because she often cries because she misses her mom a lot. Sometimes I have to comfort her a lot and make her feel a bit more secure. Since then, she hugs me really tightly every time I see her, and she often looks me up and tells me little things she has been doing. She also has a doll named Anita whom she cares a lot and pretends to be her own baby. She often told me things happening with Anita too. Today, her family brought her some snacks, and she got some and shared with me! It was so sweet, and I shared them with the rest of the kids too. Jenny, on the other hand, kept sticking to me and sat on my lap, asking for tickles again, while Jhonatan kept telling me about everything from colors to objects around. He has advanced so much with his cognitive skills, and I am so proud of him!

Lemar´t was very sweet as always. His mom came to visit him, and brought him various snacks. Immediately, he came to me and put a bottle on my mouth! He was trying to share a drink that his mom brought for him. It was super sweet of him! Then he shared with Jhonatan and Alonso as well. I printed a photo of him and his mom which I took a few weeks ago for his mom, as she actually loves him very much and come to see him every weekend. It is sad that they have to be separated due to certain condition. Though I must said, at current conditions it is probably the best solution for them. And selfishly it is good for me too as I get to know this wonderful child!

12-6-2010

Lemar´t was eager to help peeling the peas.

Jenny helped out too!

The twins, as always, were super funny and incredibly cute. Jhonatan made a sad face on purpose while José Luis tried to put more peas in his bowl.

After coming back from Huaraz, I remained sick for the whole week. I rested quite a bit, while continued my work in the afternoon when the kids are back home from school. It made me feel so warm though whenever they see me they would call me and hug me. Sometimes I don’t have enough arms and space to fit all of them at once! Jenny, for instance, is one of the sweetest girls and seems to be also happy. She always asked me to tickle her, and she loves it. Plus, she would try to tickle me back too!

Today, I finally felt a bit better, although my throat still hurt a little and there was still a chunk of yellowish phlegm in the morning. But anyway, I got on with my schedule or work. After breakfast, I had a meeting with Noelia about coordination of therapy during the weekend. Then, I went on to hang out with the kínder kids. It involved playing, chatting, reading stories as well as some disciplining. We also helped with peeling the peas, which is a task we often do during the weekends. We all helped, from as little as Julio to us tios, and we finished quite quickly. Afterwards, we all went on to play in the jungle gym.