The Blue Car
A little background--When we go to placements we generally spend some time inside doing a craft that we have prepared and then some time outside playing and/or doing more crafts. So everyday we pack and outdoor bag and an indoor bag for each placement and take them with us. The inside bag will include the craft and all needed supplies (glue, paper, crayons, etc) and some games to play inside (connect four, cards, Uno, etc. ). The outdoor bag will usually include things for kids to play outdoors and depends on the kids and their ages at the placement. For instance, at the hospital for kids where the kids ages range from 6-14 we might take matchbox cars for the younger kids and soccer balls and volley balls for the older ones.
For the past three weeks I have been playing/working every morning at the deaf kindergarden. After a while you begin to pack the bag for the things that you know that particular kids like to play with. For instance Harry and a little girl at the kindergarden like to play memory games together so we always take one. Whe it is time to leave we, of course, have to collect all the things we brought. Sometimes this is the worst part of the day, especially when someone is really enjoying a toy or you are in the middle of a card game.
I took dominoes earlier this week and found out that, although most of the kids do not like to play dominoes, they do love to use them as building blocks. So, with Dasha's help I found a couplу of old sets of dominoes that were missing pieces (so they were no gooв for traditionфд dominos) and I began to take them every day. I also noticed that the smaller boys loved to play with cars and we never seemed to have enough. I mentioned this Wednesday night while we were packing the Bags for Thursday and Dasha found me a pack of 4 new shiny Match Box cars. I was thrilled and was thinking what a great surprise these will be tomorrow.
The Blue Car Story
Thursday morning I awoke to rain and one look at the sky told me that it could be an all day rain. Not good since the deaf kindergarden is usually all outside and the kids love it. They get to run and play and you do not need to hear to play catch, throw a fresbee or play in the sandbox. But at least I had the new cars.
When we arrived at the kindergarden there was some confusion about how to play with the kids. Usually we have two or three classes together outside but there was no room big enough to put that many kids together. And all of the staff was busy preparing the school for Friday--The First day Of school..A big deal in Russia. So we decided to split and play with two different groups and then alternate since the younger group was calm and easy and the older group was rowdy. I did the younger group for the first hour and then went to the rowdy room for the rest of the day.
After a while I found myself again with my 3 buddies that I had benn domino building all week and I pulled out the dominoes and we began to build. After about fifteen minutes I pulled out the 4 beautiful cars and everyones eyes lit up. I let everyone pick their car, which is difficult since each boy wants them all, and I kept one for myself. We then used the dominoes to build roads, bridges, ramps.....you name it. What a blast even though I was constantly having to settle stolen car disputes.
One boy and I have become good friends and he has even learned, and loves, to get the baseball and gloves out and play catch. He has quiet an arm and is a good athlete. Well he and I seem to always be playing something when it is time to go and he has started tricking me by hiding one of the pieces in his pocket. I will pack all the dominoes, or piecs of the puzzle, and right before I step onto the van to leave he will pull out the missing piece, grin from ear to ear, and hand it to me and give me a "high five". He tricked me again. :)
When I passed out the cars he got the blue one, I got the white one, and the green and red one went to our two other road building buddies. After swapping blue and white cars for 10 or 15 times my friend tricked me and somehow ended up with both cars. I attempted to be mad, sad, not interested....nothing worked..I never got it back. But who cares since I had 100 of them growing up and he was having such a great time playing with Andy and showing him and everyone else his TWO cars.
Then Dasha came and told us the van was there and it was time to go. I have to admit I was ready as spending the whole time inside with loud screaming kids had taken its toll. I like to be outside and so do they. So I started picking up all the blocks, dominoes, cards......saving the cars for last so my buds could have extra time to play. At last when I could wait no longer I begin to collect the cars, still saving the blue and white one until last. When I finally went to my friend to get the cars he only gave me the white one. I kept asking him for the blue one, knowing his game, but also knowing when we left the room he could not follow us to the van. It was raining. Still he refused. Then I tried to check his pocket, at which time a staff member came by and tried to help me get the car. He still refused and I decided..who cares he can keep the car. But the damage was done and the staff member said something to him that made him start crying and leave the room. I felt awful. How could I make such a big deal about such a trivial car. Wow, sometimes I get so caught up in "doing my job" that I lose all my prespective of life and value.
If I thought I felt bad on our ride home, imagine my horror when after getting back to the hotel, and unpacking the bag...........there was the blue car. He had put it in the bag without me looking.
All flowers do not smell sweet and all stories do not have happy endings. I will be a better person for yesterday, a much better person, but that knowledge does not help the pain when you forget your place and hurt others.
But kids are very forgiving and hopefully we will still be buddies when I go back to his home.
борис
For the past three weeks I have been playing/working every morning at the deaf kindergarden. After a while you begin to pack the bag for the things that you know that particular kids like to play with. For instance Harry and a little girl at the kindergarden like to play memory games together so we always take one. Whe it is time to leave we, of course, have to collect all the things we brought. Sometimes this is the worst part of the day, especially when someone is really enjoying a toy or you are in the middle of a card game.
I took dominoes earlier this week and found out that, although most of the kids do not like to play dominoes, they do love to use them as building blocks. So, with Dasha's help I found a couplу of old sets of dominoes that were missing pieces (so they were no gooв for traditionфд dominos) and I began to take them every day. I also noticed that the smaller boys loved to play with cars and we never seemed to have enough. I mentioned this Wednesday night while we were packing the Bags for Thursday and Dasha found me a pack of 4 new shiny Match Box cars. I was thrilled and was thinking what a great surprise these will be tomorrow.
The Blue Car Story
Thursday morning I awoke to rain and one look at the sky told me that it could be an all day rain. Not good since the deaf kindergarden is usually all outside and the kids love it. They get to run and play and you do not need to hear to play catch, throw a fresbee or play in the sandbox. But at least I had the new cars.
When we arrived at the kindergarden there was some confusion about how to play with the kids. Usually we have two or three classes together outside but there was no room big enough to put that many kids together. And all of the staff was busy preparing the school for Friday--The First day Of school..A big deal in Russia. So we decided to split and play with two different groups and then alternate since the younger group was calm and easy and the older group was rowdy. I did the younger group for the first hour and then went to the rowdy room for the rest of the day.
After a while I found myself again with my 3 buddies that I had benn domino building all week and I pulled out the dominoes and we began to build. After about fifteen minutes I pulled out the 4 beautiful cars and everyones eyes lit up. I let everyone pick their car, which is difficult since each boy wants them all, and I kept one for myself. We then used the dominoes to build roads, bridges, ramps.....you name it. What a blast even though I was constantly having to settle stolen car disputes.
One boy and I have become good friends and he has even learned, and loves, to get the baseball and gloves out and play catch. He has quiet an arm and is a good athlete. Well he and I seem to always be playing something when it is time to go and he has started tricking me by hiding one of the pieces in his pocket. I will pack all the dominoes, or piecs of the puzzle, and right before I step onto the van to leave he will pull out the missing piece, grin from ear to ear, and hand it to me and give me a "high five". He tricked me again. :)
When I passed out the cars he got the blue one, I got the white one, and the green and red one went to our two other road building buddies. After swapping blue and white cars for 10 or 15 times my friend tricked me and somehow ended up with both cars. I attempted to be mad, sad, not interested....nothing worked..I never got it back. But who cares since I had 100 of them growing up and he was having such a great time playing with Andy and showing him and everyone else his TWO cars.
Then Dasha came and told us the van was there and it was time to go. I have to admit I was ready as spending the whole time inside with loud screaming kids had taken its toll. I like to be outside and so do they. So I started picking up all the blocks, dominoes, cards......saving the cars for last so my buds could have extra time to play. At last when I could wait no longer I begin to collect the cars, still saving the blue and white one until last. When I finally went to my friend to get the cars he only gave me the white one. I kept asking him for the blue one, knowing his game, but also knowing when we left the room he could not follow us to the van. It was raining. Still he refused. Then I tried to check his pocket, at which time a staff member came by and tried to help me get the car. He still refused and I decided..who cares he can keep the car. But the damage was done and the staff member said something to him that made him start crying and leave the room. I felt awful. How could I make such a big deal about such a trivial car. Wow, sometimes I get so caught up in "doing my job" that I lose all my prespective of life and value.
If I thought I felt bad on our ride home, imagine my horror when after getting back to the hotel, and unpacking the bag...........there was the blue car. He had put it in the bag without me looking.
All flowers do not smell sweet and all stories do not have happy endings. I will be a better person for yesterday, a much better person, but that knowledge does not help the pain when you forget your place and hurt others.
But kids are very forgiving and hopefully we will still be buddies when I go back to his home.
борис
posted by Bryan at 9:27 AM
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