Some of my Kids

Many of you have heard about our kids. Today I took some pictures of the regulars so let me introduce them here.  These are some, but not all of the kids.

First we have Miguel.  Miguel is 6 years old and is just starting Grade 2.  Miguel is one of our star students.  He could read almost anything the first day we saw him.  He was very slow and methodical as he read but he could sound out just about any word.  He is absolutely adorable with his toothless grin and it goes from ear to ear every time he sees us.  I just love him.
The last time we met he wanted to take a more difficult book.  It is Cinderella and he is holding it in his right hand.  This book is like a little novel.  It has 107 pages and some pretty colorful illustrations.  He wanted to take it home to read and I said no it was too difficult for him.  He insisted that it wasn't so I capitulated and he took it.  2 days later when I went for my walk he was sitting on his front step apparently reading the larger, easier book.  He then bounded off his from step with the large book in hand and inside it he had the smaller, more difficult book open and that is what he was reading.  I was delighted.  Half an hour later when I returned just as it was getting dark he once again bounded out to meet me and inform me that he had only gotten to page 40 and now it was too dark to read.  I told him he could continue tomorrow when it got light.  Tonight he came with the book to tell me that he had finished it...oh my goodness, that was quite the feat for the little guy....I am so proud of him.

Next up is Karina.  Karina is going into grade 4 and is very smart.  Unfortunately she could not read.  She does know her alphabet except for the letters g,h and j so that is a start.  Karina desperately wanted to learn to read.  In the beginning she could not read at all and if she did try she would guess at the word based on the first letter.  As the kids took turns reading she would not participate.  I gave her books and asked her to get her sister Joanne, who can read, to help her.  She is now our star student.  Before very long she was sounding out words and she improved every week.  After about 3 weeks she had enough confidence to read out loud with the other kids.  She still has a ways to go but is improving steadily every week.  I predict that by the end of this year she will catch up with a lot of her classmates and for sure she will do much better in school.  She can write well and I think has succeeded in getting as far as she has with memorization.

This is James.  James is going into Grade 7 he turns 12 on Sunday.  James is a bit of a problem child.  He is a fairly recent newcomer to the group but comes every week.  I think he just is lacking attention.  He is a bit of a cutup and excels at bossing the other kids.  Mercifully he can read.  Not well for a Grade 6 level but with practice that can improve.  He is a bit lazy and doesn't want to take the difficult books.  I, being the taskmaster that I am, insist that he needs practice with the harder ones.

This is Porfirio.  He will be starting grade 4.  He, thanks to my efforts of the past 2 years, can now read quite well.  He is also a bit lazy and thinks that 3 or 4 pages of a difficult book are enough.  I got tough with him and told him that if he wasn't going to work harder I wasn't going to let him come any more.  That scared him and he buckled down and read 40 pages of his book and then finished it for the next class after I told him that if he didn't finish it I was going to give it to another kid who would read it.  Porfirio just turned 10 last week.

Next is Selene.  Selene is also going into Grade 4. She is adorable and can read very well.  She came today for the first time in a long time.  I am not sure what her problem was but before I let her take any more books she had to vow she was coming back the next time....we'll see.

This is Yaxi Mari, Jame's sister.  She is going into grade 8 and can read well.  She is the newest child to come and is quite a drama queen...sweet but a bit dramatic.

Last, but not least is Maribele.  Maribele is Karina's sister and at 13 years old is going into grade 7.  Maribelle knows her alphabet and can write but cannot read at all, not even simple words.  Maribele had no interest in learning. We don't know if it is because she was embarassed or just so old she thinks she can't but with no drive there was nothing we could do for her.  She will spend the rest of her life in domestic poverty and servitude.  We can't win them all....sigh.