We're Moving!

As you’ve seen, we’ve experienced tremendous growth in the Tutoring Center over this last year. Most days we have more kids coming than we have time or space for. While we don’t have any more helpers, yet, we do have a new facility for the coming school year. A good size house is available to rent in a nearby neighborhood where many of our kids live. In this new space we will be able to have more students as well as offer a greater variety of services. For me, this is the beginning of a dream come true. Since we opened the Tutoring Center in 2009, I always hoped it would grow into a little community center where we could do cooking and gardening with the kids; offer parenting and adult literacy classes, and hold a lending library with all the books we rescued from the California school system. We now have the space to do it, we just need the helpers and the funds to get started.


If you are interested in knowing more about this new stage and how you can be involved, click here. Or send me an email krystaleanne9@gmail.com


We are extremely thankful to Ricardo and Giannina and everyone at La Iglesia Reformada, for so generously sharing their space with us over the last year and a half. They truly have been a huge blessing and wonderful friends. It will be sad not being right next door to them, but I know our relationship with them will continue to grow.

Helpers

Over the last few months, it seems the kids have had more days where school was canceled than days they actually attended. As result, they want to spend the whole day at the Tutoring Center. Unfortunately there is not enough for them to do, (they have no homework since there is no school) and there is definitely not enough room for all the kids to be there at the same time. I feel really bad about having to tell the kids, "No, you can't come study right now", especially when I know they have nothing else to do. But there is no way two teachers can help more than 15 kids at the same time when they all are working on different things, even if we did have space for them.

One day, after a week of no classes, one of my 5th graders had an idea. "What if I come back in the afternoon, and I can help you tutor the little kids?" Great idea! That afternoon she came back with a group of five other 5th and 6th graders who proved to be amazing teacher's assistants. At one point Leah and I had nothing to do, because everyone was working so well and independently with their student teachers. While I wish the kids would have school everyday, this new systems seems to be working out well. The older kids are learning responsibility, patience, and creative thinking. The younger kids receive more personalized attention. Everyone wins!

Alicia and Christian working on Math problems


Fabian and Yurly learning about the difference between domestic and wild animals


Catalina teaching Ana how to estimate measurements


Karla and Brayan working on color and letter recognition

Spontaneous Visit

As I've said before, there's no substitute for being able to share life here, first-hand with friends and family. A few weeks ago, Leah and I had the immense joy of showing our dear friend Sarah around our world here in Costa RIca. She bravely took a few days off of work, traveled over night, and was ready to jump right in. She went to Girls' Group with us, taught 5th grade math with her emerging Spanish skills, rode the busy buses, experienced all our favorite places downtown, got to know most of our family community, and even had time to relax at the beach for a few days! Thank you Sarah, for coming and walking though daily life with us.


Sarah, Leah, and I



Sarah and I outside of our favorite coffee shop



We spent a lot of time just hanging out and talking. It was sooo good!

Catalina

Today I had a great afternoon working with Catalina. She first started coming to the Center over a year ago. In the beginning, whenever she faced a difficult problem or question, she would just give up or take on a horrible attitude. It was so difficult working with her, but bit-by-bit we built up her confidence. Today in class she was introduced to the concept of least common multiples. She didn't understand the teacher's explanation, but wrote down everything on the board. The test on this concept isn't for two more weeks, but she wanted to start figuring it out today. (Already this marks a huge improvement.) We sat there together for over an hour and half, working on her math homework. Me, trying to re-learn the concept from an old Spanish math textbook we have in the center and then trying to explain it using the new vocabulary I just learned in a way a twelve year old can understand. Catalina, faithfully applying her multiplication tables she has finally mastered to figure out multiples of 28, 76, 114. Once Catalina finished all of her homework, which also included identifying prime numbers and determining the divisibility of other numbers, she asked if I could give her more numbers to practice finding the least common multiple. She wanted to make sure she really understood how to do it on her own. A few minutes later, I saw Catalina using her extra practice sheet to teach one of the other 5th graders how to find the least common multiple. I was so proud of her. She has grown so much in this last year.

Even though this may seem like such a small thing, a child doing her homework, for me it marks a change that has taken place in Catalina's character. She no longer is afraid to attempt things she doesn't understand right away. She has developed the confidence and perseverance to figure it out. Furthermore, rather than being smug in now having something she can do but another cannot, she shares her knowledge and patiently walks them through the steps she has just learned. This is the change I long to see in each of our kids. While learning the math concept itself is great, the character development is infinitely more valuable. This is why we do what we do.

Catalina playing "What is my occupation?" at Girls' Group.

Two Years

On October 22, I celebrated 2 years of being here in Costa Rica. I many ways I feel like I've been here infinitely longer-- I can't remember what is likes to be able to do all ten items on your to-do list in one day, or to experience consecutive days without rain. I'm overwhelmed when I look around the Tutoring Center seeing 20 kids there nearly everyday, and wonder how we grew so fast. But I also thought I would be perfectly fluent in Spanish by now, able to discuss philosophy and my greatest dreams without thinking about how to conjugate verbs or where to put pronouns. (I'm learning to recognize this is an unrealistic goal )

I love Costa Rica and love the work I get to be a part of here. Yes, it is so hard being away from family and community. I often feel like I'm missing out on huge pieces of your lives, and it's challenging to share life here in away that makes sense for those of you who've never been here. But we are trying.

My initial 2 year community with SI is up, but I don't feel my time in Costa Rica has come to an end. I'm extending my commitment for another year. There are many exciting things coming up, especially with the Tutoring Center. I'm excited to see where we will go.

Here are a few of my favorite things....

Family, Friends-both new and old








Outdoor Adventures







Exploring San Jose





Our kids!