I love my job!

Can I just take some time to brag about my student for a little bit? 

As I shared in a past post, I am teaching a young man in my parents’ home. His name is Cesar (he goes by Checha) and he is 18 years old. As far as we know, before I began working with him in September, he never had any formal schooling. He is smart and very anxious to learn, but he hadn’t been given the chance to learn so he lacks many of the basics. 

Touchpoint addition

I go to Hogar de la Esperanza to work with Checha one on one for 2 1/2 hours three days a week. We have been doing touchpoint counting (dots on the numbers that the student touches and counts to figure out what number it is) to work toward addition. Just this week, we started addition and Checha is doing great! We have spent the majority of our time working on identifying letters, tracing them, and listening to the sounds each letter makes.

Writing name on iPad app

At the beginning of September, I evaluated where Checha was to know where to start. He knew most numbers 0-9 and all basic colors and shapes, but he could only identify four letters of the alphabet. After really working on learning letters for a month, on October 5th, I tested Checha and he knew six letters (only two more than a month before). I felt extremely discouraged because we had been working so hard with so little progress. I was trying everything I could think of to help him, but nothing seemed to be working. Teachers often see students struggling, but it is important to try new things and not give up. We kept working together. Checha worked on his own when I wasn’t at the home. After lots of work, on October 31st, he knew 13 letters! He learned 7 letters in 26 days and since then, he has learned a few more. He also is working to write his name (picture shows his progress). I am so proud of Checha and how hard he is working!

Who says those with disabilities can’t learn?! THIS is why I am in Guatemala.

Leading up to Thanksgiving, my family has a thankful tree that sits on the kitchen table. When someone thinks of something they are thankful for, they write it on a piece of paper and clip it on the tree. Checha asked someone to help him write one. His paper says, “Thanks for school”. How exciting is it that Checha finally gets to have an education and that he realizes how blessed he is to have the opportunity to learn! 

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Krishauna