Two Weeks of Loving Kindness

Kimmy at Kids' Step Preschool

I began another action-packed day at the Kids' Step Preschool. We started by saying a prayer and singing songs, including my personal personal favourite, the Barney theme song, since they all get up and give each other huge hugs and kisses. I then got to read them a book that contains all the classic nursing nursery rhymes that Vicky kindly let me borrow.

They were cheering for me to repeat the tongue twister over and over again, of course.

It was time for a snack not long after, which is an opportunity for them to socialize and for the teachers and I to promote acts of kindness and etiquette. (i.e. sharing, saying please and thank you).  A great example of this is a 4-year-old boy by the name of JeanPaul who offered his whole snack to another child who finished his food before all the others because he was so hungry.

After an hour or so of bingo and teaching some small motor skills, I helped the teachers feed the children and put them down for a nap.

It was finally time for me to eat and this is when Joanie, Sue and Peggy visited me just in time for me to join then for lunch.  They gave me a tour of the health clinic and we visited the markets before I made my way back to the preschool to wake up the kids.

This is when I continued tutoring a couple of the 4-year-olds that are going on to kindergarten next year. They needed alot of individual attention since they do not receive any help at home and still have not grasped the concepts of colours, shapes or the alphabet.

With a lot of positive reinforcement and encouragement, I've successfully managed to teach them three colours and two letters on the alphabet. This is why for the past few days, I've been worried about what is going to happen once the volunteers are gone. This is when I remembered the conversation I had with Jodie that same morning. She told me something along the lines of,
"I just see it as giving them love for two weeks..and it's bound to make a difference."
Which then led me to be reminded of one of my favourite quotes by Mother Theresa:

"A drop in the ocean may be small but the ripples are endless."

So, I am determined to create as many ripples as I can by giving them the love they need for the short time I get to be in their lives.
- Kimmy