Summer vacation is here and the kids are off to a good start!  They are enjoying taking part in art, swimming, badminton, basketball, guitar and cooking class. This week summer school started and the eight and nine year olds are attending VBS.  I love summer at CSC!  It's great to take the kids to their different activities and to spend time with them outside  of the school day.

 

I will continue to write about the different summer activities in the next month. I would like to start this week by sharing about the cooking class.  Joevanie, Cyril, Melrod, Ardian, Gibbie, Adelyn, Charydyn and Sheila Mae are enjoying learning to cook this summer. Last week they made Filipino food and today they made chocolate cupcakes and frosting from scratch!  They are most looking forward to making homemade pizza the end of the month.  Here are a few pictures of their first few days of class.

 

Fieldtrip excitement is in the air at CSC right now! Check out our website to read all about it. On Friday in our morning meeting we did skits and presentations with the kids to continue to tell them about what would be happening on all of the fieldtrips to Bohol, Manila and Camping. Tonight we are having a kick off supper and prayer time before the week of fieldtrips begin. The first group leaves for Bohol early Monday morning. Check out my blog at the end of the week for pictures of the preschoolers camping! We are all looking forward to a great week of learning outside of the classroom!

Last night I arrived at the Eicher house after a long day. I must admit I was tired and ready for the day to end.  I wasn't through the door for more than a minute and Wilmar came running up to me yelling out my name with his arms extended towards me. I picked him up and he immediately started singing I've got joy down in my heart. Deep deep down in my heart. J-O-Y down in my heart. Deep deep down in my heart.Jesus gave it to me and no one can destroy it. DESTROY DESTROY OOOOOP! I've got joy down in my heart deep deep down in my heart. I stood there holding Wilmar and listening to him sing this same song four or five times though with a huge smile and joy in his heart. I was soon singing along and didn't seeem so tired anymore.  I was just one of the people Wilmar encouraged yesterday as he brings joy to many people numerous times thoughout his day!

The kids had a wonderful Christmas break and are now happy to be back in school.  It's great to teach students who love going to school. Of course there are a few exceptions on some days, but overall the CSC kids love school!  Here are just a few photos to share as we are back in the routine again!

It has been a great week!  Teacher Tammy did a nice job of filling everyone in on the activities of this last week. Check out her blog to see all the Christmas happenings at CSC.  There have been lots of fun times this last week. Whether it be from kids celebrating their first Christmas at CSC, learning about the birth of Jesus, getting green frosting all over your face, giving to Junel's box, decorating christmas cookies, staying up late and having fun together, we have had a wonderful week at CSC!  Thanks to everyone who helps bring joy to each of us here in Cebu!

The CSC kids have a Praise and Worship Band led by Teacher Francis.  The school is often filled with kids singing praise songs as they are practicing for an evening of praise and worship.  Recently the preschoolers got to join the band as they led morning meeting. They were excited to Sing "My God is Mighty to Save" and a few other favorite worship songs.  Here are some fun pictures of  the band. 

Yesterday Rhoella celebrated her first birthday at CSC.  She has been talking about her birthday coming soon since her first day of preschool in June.  We were all excited to finally share this special day with her.  Rhoella is a joy.  You can't help but smile when you are with her. Her spunky, upbeat personality brightens many of  my days. Rhoella encourages me to live life passionately and to enjoy the simple things in life.  Here are a few fun pictures of Rhoella having the birthday song sung to her, getting ready to blow out the candle, and successfully getting the job done! 

The preschoolers have been learning about flowers and plants the past few weeks. They have enjoyed planting mongo seeds and taking care of them each day.  We are now learning about the sun! Here are some pictures of the past few weeks! 

Today the toddlers were out on a walk and happened to stop by the school. The preschoolers were on snack break and excited to see all the little ones.  I invited them to join us in preschool for a little bit.  The ten toddlers were thrilled to enter the preschool room. Some were schocked and just looked around at first while others smiled and ran.  The room was quite full to say the least. They enjoyed playing with toys, reading books and trying to glue like the preschoolers. We also watched the preschoolers morning meeting program from friday.  Oh and of course it was mid morning so they had to have a morning snack.  A great time was had by all and a few tears as Crystal and Lavinia did not want to go home!

Joemar celebrated his 32nd birthday yesterday!  Joemar is always happy but he is especially thrilled when his birthday is approaching. For those of you who have had the privilege of meeting Joemar just thinking about him probably brings a smile or joy to your heart. Joemar brings joy to everyone!  Whether it be his fellow co-workers at McDonalds, visitors, staff, kids Joemar has a love for life that can encourage anyone. He just has a way of making you smile. We look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with Joemar in the years to come.

This morning was the first morning meeting of this year.  Twice a month all of the students gather together for 30 minutes of activities.  The kids and teachers take turns being in charge.  This morning was the preschoolers turn.  We have been learning about animals so we sang a variety of songs about animals.  Then the preschoolers acted out a book entitled "Going on a Bear Hunt".  The kids were all shocked as Teacher Laarne came out from her cave chasing them in a bear costume.  I wasn't expecting some of the kids to be quite a scared as they were.  Sweet Teacher Laarne gave a mighty Roar!

 

We are starting a Read-a-Thon this quarter and we included the kickoff in our morning meeting! The teachers each introduced how many books their kids should try to read this quarter through cheers and songs.  The students are excited to read because if they reach their goal they get to throw Uncle Paul in the swimming pool and Uncle Joel has to ride a Caribou.  We will keep you posted as to how they are doing.  The kids are excited to say the least. 

 

We ended our morning meeting wishes all the kids with June and July birthdays a Happy Birthday!  Enjoy some pictures of this morning at Children of Hope School.

The first day of preschool ended about 20 minutes ago. Angillo, Jayson, June, Rhoella, Angelica, Bart, GeAn, and Clyd filled the room with laughter and energetic play. The kids were thrilled to be back in school.  This week the preschoolers are learning about their name.  Bart, Rhoella and Angelica are new to preschool this year.  They were excited to use a scissors and were talking about  their new experiences all morning. The first day of school is always such a wonderful day of the year. For some it is their first time to ever be in school.  Thank you to everyone who is part of the Children of Hope School team around the world. We are thankful for each of you who pray for us, send school supplies, give of your time and services to visit us here, and share your expertise through email. Thank you!  Enjoy some pictures of our first day! 

Children of Hope school classes begin one week from today! Check back next Monday for pictures and stories about the first day in Preschool!

 

I am back stateside for the month of May! I am having a wonderful time with family and friends.  It's great to share with people here about life at CSC. I look forward to seeing many of you in this next month!

We all anxiously helped Rodrigo celebrate his 6th birthday on Friday. The long anticipated day had finally arrived. The day started off with many birthday greetings. Rodrigo was happy to get mail from his special friends around the world. We sang happy birthday, ate cookies and blew out candle in preschool.  Rodrigo invited two friends to his party in the evening at  the Cherne house. The staff joined the kids for a birthday meal along with cake and icecream.  Rodrigo never stopped smiling the whole night. Then finally it was time to open the gift!  A great time was had by all. We love celebrating birthdays at CSC! Rodrigo is our only April birthday this month. It's hard to believe that we will have to wait until May 2nd for our next party!  Enjoy some fun photos of Rodrigo and his special day! 

This morning Level C and Teacher Tammy along with my preschool class did a lesson together on the planets. We both happened to be studying about the solar system.  Analiza and John Rey taught the preschoolers the names of the eight planets and a few facts about them.  Then together we started the process of making the eight planets with paper mache. This was a great opportunity for our two classes to unite and learn from each other. The ten preschoolers listened attentively as Analiza and John Rey shared. The fun began with the kids blowing up balloons and adding water and flour together to make paste.  We shredded paper together and then the mess began.   Let's just say most of us were covered with a white gooey mixture by the end of class.  We are now anxiously waiting for the eight paper mache balloons to dry so we can continue on with the painting and next step. Here are some fun photos of our adventure!

Here are some fun pictures of the past few weeks. Enjoy!