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June 2008

Another one of our children who have been here a long time, Karabelo has blossomed in this past year.  People can attest that a year ago she was very unsociable and always had a dire look on her face (you would smile at her and she’d look at you as if she’d like nothing better than to knock you over).  This was also one of the children who hit and pinched—Mary remembered her last January from this.  But this past year Karabelo has not only grown in stature (she’s so tall now!), but in her social skills.  She is so much more outgoing now, and speaks up to give an answer if she knows it.  And what a little brainiac too!  She is so good with colors and shapes, and her drawings are becoming more and more recognizable pictures.

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June 2008

Tume is one of the children who has been with us the longest.  She is bright, social, and just plain charming.  She makes friends easily, and is very chatty and loves all things pretty and pink.  Just recently turned 4 years-old, Tume is really making progress in her learning.  She has been trying to draw letters on her own, recognizes shapes and colors, absolutely loves playing house in the kitchen station, and can identify her own name if it is written down.  We are still working on numbers, but she is getting there.

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June 2008

Monaheng is Tume’s cousin, and you couldn’t find two more different children.  Monaheng has a short attention span, and is prone to mischief after a little while.  Yet he is bright and sweet, and in this past year has made some phenomenal progress.  I’ve always said that he is going to be an engineer or architect someday—he loves building things and using his hands.  He is so good with a hammer (supervised of course!), and likes playing with the PVC pipes, water station, and rice play station.  Monaheng cannot sometimes concentrate long enough to finish his writing exercises, and when he and Tshidiso get together they often do not do what they are supposed to, but there is not a mean bone in this little boy’s body.

2008

June 2008

This boy is so full of energy, like Monaheng he needs a reminder every now and then how to behave.  But he is so creative and smart, I always am impressed with him and his work.  He actually makes things with our box of PVC pipes—the other day he made a telephone, and before he make a bench press bar and started doing bench presses!  He also loves books, and is friends with Tankiso and Diemo.  What I love about Lebohang is that he is also responsible—he takes care of his two cousins who go to the little kids class, and when Mokoetsi (a blind boy in the village) comes over to our preschool during the holidays he takes care of him and helps him get places.

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October 2007

One of the biggest surprises this past month has been Moleboheng, one of our smallest children.  She has slowly started to come out of her shell and blossom into a happy toddler.  Moleboheng has always been slightly out of the group (and at times just plain “out of it”), and we have never been sure how well she would progress in her learning.  But lately she has been surprising us all—she is smiling so much more, and we think she has begun to master the idea of numbers and counting!  Wim recently remarked how during writing activities she managed to hold the pencil correctly all on her own, and she is even now going down for a nap in the afternoons.  Granted, one of us has to lie down with her until she falls asleep, but she’s getting there!

June 2008

Moleboheng used to cry all the time last year, and was so behind the rest of her peers.  We think that she might have some sort of developmental disability, as she is so slow in her movements and physically is not where she should be.  She needs help getting up and down the steps leading in to the bathroom and little kids classroom, and has a hard time getting herself up from a sitting to standing position.  But we have been amazed at progress we’ve seen in her language skills, as well as her writing skills.  She knows many of the songs we sing by heart, and can do the actions that go along with them.  Moleboheng is talking so much more, is smiling and doesn’t cry anymore.  She has also grown, and is so tall now!

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December 2007

If you’ve been here before, out of all the children at the Care Centre you’d most likely remember Tshediso.  He’s fairly small for his age (a little over 2 years), with the biggest physical trait being his large eyes and long eyelashes.

  When one of our last teams were here, they commented on how big his eyes are, and how big the tears are that come out of them!

  Tshediso is one of our children who cried at every little provocation.  Lately, he’s not been coming as much due to illness, though his mother keeps us posted on his progress (she’s a lovely young woman named Refoue who comes to our English class and Prayer Group). 

The reason that I write about him today is because of his progress—he is getting better at sharing the toys, and is crying so much less than when I first got here back in March.  He’s mastered the potty break, and without any help takes himself to the bathroom if he needs to go (a BIG step!).  He also is getting better at the physical activities that are designed to build his large muscle skills—when we are ‘exercising’ I watch him study the other bigger boys, then try and copy what they do. 

Tshediso has displayed such focus when rolling a ball back and forth, and he is jumping with much more confidence!  The next step for Tshediso: learning how to roll with his arms tucked in and his feet together, and identifying the different parts of his body.

2008

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August 2007

Sito is now potty-trained!!!  Mamosito (we lovingly call her Sito) was the worst at wetting her pants when I first got here 3 months ago.  At about 1 ½ years old, now is the time to start that necessary potty training—especially since people here don’t have diapers!  When Laurie Rumbaugh was here Sito managed to wet her pants a record five times during one preschool session, and was positively terrified of the children’s potty that we have in the bathroom.  Now, by the grace of God she is almost completely potty trained—she loves the time she spends on it!  Sito even takes herself to the bathroom now, and like a big girl insists on doing everything herself—no help needed! 

June 2008

Mamosito has been with us a little over a year, and was coming before her cousin Tokelo also started attending.  One thing about Sito is that she will only do what she wants to do, and nothing else.  It was an experience to try and get her to start taking naps in the afternoon with the rest of the children, and even now we still have problems getting her down every now and then.  She is talking so much more than before, and her pencil/writing control is greatly improving.  We just need to keep working with her on sharing and listening!

2008

June 2008

Modise has been hanging around for quite awhile now with his mother (a young woman named Manyenye), but only recently started daily attending the Care Centre.  It has been amazing to watch his personality grow—I love it when he waves at me or tries to smile.  Poor guy is still getting used to being away from his mother, and so cries quite often.  Recently he had a very serious rash all over his body, and is only now recovering enough to come back to the crèche.

2008

June 2008

Bibi is one of our newer children, and is the youngest in the group.  He is still in diapers, but is walking and talking like crazy.  Like most young children, he cried when he first came, and did not want to leave Enny’s side.  When he was in the little kids class he would either cry or sleep.  Now, he is exploring and playing with the toys.  Bibi is also laughing and smiling more—we had so much fun laughing and being silly the other day while I was changing him

2008

June 2008

Bokang is one of Mary’s favorites, and I’ve got to say that he is so easy to love!  This little boy is personality plus.  He has a short attention span, and during group activity time it’s difficult to keep him focused for longer than a couple of minutes.  I love watching him dance though when it’s music circle time—he can get so into it!  Right now we are having trouble trying to get him to use the toilet if he has to go as well as sharing toys, but at this age that is all pretty normal.  He was nervous when he first started coming, but now is so comfortable.

2008

June 2008

This little girl is new to our crèche, and we are still learning about her.  Right now she is staying in our small kids class, and already she seems to be doing very well.  Her mother attends our English class and Women’s Bible study—hopefully Boitumelo will become a regular at the Care Centre!

2008

June 2008

Diemo used to come with his older brother, but then stopped for a long time when his brother started going to school.  Now that his little sister and cousin are old enough to start attending, he has come back.  And we are so glad to have him!  Diemo has one of the best smiles, and just beams when he’s accomplished something in class.  Because he missed so much he was a little behind, and needed a little help and encouragement.  He is getting better at doing puzzles, and absolutely loves the tools and mallet board (I think all of our little boys relish the opportunity to use a hammer and hit something!). 

2008

June 2008

One of our newest toddlers, this little 2 year-old has been doing so well playing with his peers in our little kids class.  He came once a long time ago, cried the whole time, and we didn’t see him again for months.  Kananelo responds to simple commands, shares well, and loves playing catch with a ball.  We are still working on getting him potty trained, but we are confident that he’ll master this soon

2008

June 2008

Malefu has the cutest little face, we all adore her!  She just a couple of months ago she started coming.  Unlike most children who come to preschool and are frightened, she joined in right away and started playing.  Lately she has been sick and so hasn’t been around, but we are glad to have her as she is a joy.  Malefu attends our little kids class, and is cousins with Tokelo and Mamosito.

2007

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June 2008

This little girl is very mild-mannered and sweet, she is never noisy and listens well to instructions.  I love giving her hugs because she will reward me with one of her smiles.  Matladi struggles a little with shapes and colors, but is doing very well with her English words.  We’ve figured out that Matladi is also quite the little actress during naptime—she is one of the best at faking sleep!

2008

June 2008

Mohanua is so tiny, when she first came I couldn’t believe that this small girl was 2!  The first thing that we discovered about Mohanua when she started coming a few months ago was that she would instantly go to sleep at naptime, but was an incredible snorer!  We couldn’t believe that so much noise could come out of such a tiny frame!!!  During her time here she has become very social, and loves to play.  She is using words more now to express herself, and enjoys playing with the baby dolls in the little kids class, undressing them and dressing them again.

2008

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