June 16 2014

Santa Cruz was full of life and joy today. Jim, Derlene, and Sam enjoyed working with students who were playful and kind. They played Simon Says, distributed donated hygiene materials, and played educational games as well. Overall students were active and eager to see us. Standards 4, 5, and 6 were extremely intelligent and had a firm grasp of their alphabet and phonetics. We are looking forward to bringing dictionaries and school supplies to them tomorrow. We are truly blessed and enjoying ourselves.

Today was a productive and exciting day at Pueblo Viejo. Ben, Bob, Madison, and Thomas worked diligently to paint two rooms a vibrant blue and pink. Throughout the week we will be painting and making repairs to their campus. Ann, Kathy, and Lindsey taught hygiene and got to share the letters from All Saints students and were even able to watch the students respond to their letters. They were so inquisitive and kind! We were invited to lunch by our principal and had plantains, chicken, and rice and beans -not beans and rice. We are blessed to work with such an organized and caring group of educators.

On the way home we packed our van full to accommodate teachers traveling long distances home. The quote of the night goes to Thomas! When sitting on a tool box, in the back of the van with Lindsey, he said, "one more speed bump and i'll have to change my name to Stanley, because I'll have Stanley permanently imprinted on my butt from the tool box."

We are now back and working hard to prepare for tomorrow. We are planning lessons, printing pictures, packing supplies, and cutting laminate. Until we write again...

-The Belize Team June 2014