A Tale of Two Kindies

Well, I said the Internet connection would be spotty, and it has more than lived up (or down) to its reputation. Oh well. The stories will come out soon enough. It's hard to believe we've been here almost two weeks already. There will be only one more week here upcoming, then the safari, and then that big bird home.
We have had some pretty amazing experiences here, and made connections with some special children. On Thursday and Friday (May 23rd and 24th) we visited two different kindergartens. The Kindi here at the school is the closest set of classes close to our house, and in fact the students sometimes play in the field directly to the north. We have had some good times with them. All of them are so cute, as any kindergartner is.

We got there about 9:30 in the morning, and the kids were so excited to see us there wasn't much that we could do except run around with them a bit until their teachers rounded them up. Then we got to serve their mid-morning snack to them, which consisted of a cup of thin porridge and a lemon wedge.
Then the students went to their classrooms. There were three: the top class of five year olds, then a class of four year olds, and then the baby class. There were kids there that were even younger, about two years old, I guess.
Their classrooms are wooden huts, and the boards that make up the walls have cracks in between them. The roofs are corrugated tin, which must sound horrendous during the rainy season. One teacher said that they can't do lessons at all during that time.Most of the classrooms that we have seen, regardless of the age, are the same.
I should say something about their school year while I am thinking about it. It starts in January and goes for three months. They take a break during the heaviest rain in April and are now in Term II (May - July). August is another month off, and the final term of the year goes from September to the end of November.
Anyway, after the kindi kids took their snack we did some crafts with them. We handed out a portion of modelling clay and had them make various shapes like letters, numbers, and so on. When the kids saw me make something, they would try to give me their clay to make it for them. I've run into this before, and I always try to get them to do it themselves.

It was the usual gong show, but I've been through it a million times in Korea, so I just rolled with it, and got them settled down so Ann could read them the story of Noah's Ark. After that it was time for more games which consisted of a lot of running around crazy-go-nuts. Well, they are toddlers, and not really up to professional soccer just quite yet.
We played some "What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?" and a Kenyan game where they all formed a line which spiralled inwards and then back out, which was called "Making A Basket."
And then it was time for their nap. I hope we tired them out, instead of winding them up.
The kindergarten we visited the following day was at a small church north of Nyahururu, called Kauka Nursery. These children were a lot less well off, and would have nothing if the people of this church had not set up this nursery. We were told that they might be shy of foreigners, but they turned out to be very open and accepting, and we had a grand old time with them.

There is a small forest next to the church, and we were told that there are elephants to be found if you go in deep enough. They come out at night and forage. The farmers in the area have to be careful about harvesting their crops before the big old pachyderms get to them first.
Nearby is a river in which there are hippos. So, a lot of wildlife in the area.
Once again, we arrived just in time for their snack. Their "kitchen" was a hut with a fire pit inside of it, and they drew their water from a well.

We brought them some school supplies, including posters of basic English words, pencils, sharpeners, and notebooks. We taught them a few basic lessons like counting, ABC's, and then Destiny did her thing, teaching them to wash their hands before giving them vitamins and de-worming medicine.
We did some colouring and then it was time for more running around games. We also blew them bubbles to chase, and blew up some of those long balloons and tied them into these sort of hats.

We took some photos and gave them a snack of bread and juice and then it was time to head back to the school. PACE school, which we are staying at, is involved in a lot of other charity and special schools like this, of which more later. It sure makes you think about the land of plenty that we are so blessed to live in, and how even though some of the Kenyans we have seen might not be so well off in comparison, they still have a sense of community and closeness that we could learn from.