Veggie Tales

Last week we got to experience the very first Veggie Day at the school in Cangrejo. They are starting to teach the kids about healthy eating so, in an effort to set an example, the teachers decided have a veggie pot-luck lunch. We were invited because we are tutors at the school and, more importantly, we will eat vegetables to show that vegetables are great. I ate a couple of the dishes but didn't get too adventurous. I had broccoli, cauliflower, bean soup, some salad, avocado and cucumber/tomato combo. They also asked us to bring a cake (?) so I stuck with the theme and made a Chocolate Zucchini cake with cream cheese icing (I know, super healthy. haha). The teachers loved it... really loved it.... like, the whole cake was gone is seconds. Chris complained that he only got one piece so I made him a carrot cake with cream cheese icing a couple days later. (Chris: "which was delicious").

Columbus Day at the school was interesting. So, here's the story as far as we understand it: Columbus (yes, that Columbus) landed on Dominican soil. The Taino people were then enslaved by Columbus and his followers and several thousand Taino people (if not many, many more) were killed. We couldn't wrap our heads around why you would celebrate a guy who came in and killed a bunch of your country men (and women) but after a little explaining we discovered it's less about what Columbus did and more about remembering those who were killed. So, in remembrance of the Natives who were killed, the director had us paint the kids faces like the Taino people. I'm not going to say I didn't feel weird about it. I have a feeling it's not something that would go over well in Canada but here, why not eh? We had a good time with the kids and most of them really enjoyed getting their face painted.

We have tweaked our tutoring schedule a little bit to try and help some of the kids who need extra help. We are now doing tutoring in four smaller groups: 2pm-3pm and 3pm-4pm on Mondays;  4pm-5pm on Tuesdays; and then a group recap on Thursdays from 4pm-5pm.  Our class was getting too large to teach effectively so we are hoping this works out better. The difficultly will be getting the right kids to come at the right time. We had a kid show up on Wednesday while Scott and Chris were painting the fence. Wednesday hasn't been nor will be a tutoring day but he was there with his notebook and back pack ready to learn. Some of the kids were disappointed they can't come every day but those are mostly the kids who already know how to read...go figure.


Abriel is learning new things every day. She can now wave good bye and hello (and does it at the correct times); she can clap;  she eats almost anything we put in front of her;  she is crawling everywhere;  she pulls herself up to standing and walks along the edges of tables, her play pen, people, couches or any other sturdy object she can reach; she has stood on her own for a couple seconds; she has eight teeth (and another two are coming in); she says a few more words (not "dada" yet though), and tries to sing. There are so many other things but the list will be too long.  Its fun watching her try and accomplish new things. I am one proud Mama!