This is the Day

By 7:30 am we were all in the van on our way to what we knew was going to be a joyous yet tiring week. When we got to the church building where the camp was held, there were bare walls, cement slab floor and empty rooms. Within 3 hours there was for lack of better words a rebirth. The walls were filled with colorful banners saying art, dance, choir and painting. The banners had faces of happy children and most of all the writing, "creating art....creating life. When the bus with the 50 students arrived, which had a banner attached on the side with the Buildabridge and Nehemiah Center (Nehemiah Center is the host organization in Nicaragua), my heart was beating out of my chest full of excitement. The children filed out of the bus with expectant faces, entering the church in amazement as they were greeted by one of the camp coordinators greeting them with music. The students were so quiet and we had their attention from the door. They were well behaved throughout the classes to my surprise. This is a testimony to the work that the Child Development Program from Food for the Hungry has had major impact in the lives of the children. With time, the students warmed up to the teachers and vice versa. The motto could be heard out the windows of the classes. the voices of hte children singing at the top of their lungs in choir class, the stopping of feet in dance class and the intensity on the faces of the children in painting class were all signs that they children were giving their all in cooperation with their teachers. I had a student that I had to put in timeout for 1 minute. After class I spoke with him and asked if the dance class was hard, easy or difficult. I asked that question because he was playing around which could mean many things. He said he had difficulty with the steps which explain his acting silly instead of trying. I gave him a little speech about not giving up and that I want his participation and effort which is one of the Buildabridge Rules-do your best at all times. However, his response was one i did not expect. He said thank you. In all my teaching experience, I never had a kid after I put in timeout and I had to talk with them afterwards, tell me thank you. That was a sign of the relationships that would be made during the week.