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English Club

A few weeks ago, I had an idea. I should make cookies! Oh wait, that's not it. My idea was this: to start an English Club for the kids at Safe Haven. I knew that because they're from the orphanage, it was difficult for them to find jobs. If they know English, though, it gives them a leg up. I also knew it would be a great way to continue building relationships with them. I talked to Anya, the house mom, and she thought that I was a brilliant genius, and said she would ask the kids if they were interested (they were)!

Then, I took the idea to our team (Daniel, Meisha, and Lexi), and we organized all the details.

And so, two weeks ago on Wednesday, we had our first English Club! Seven kids from Safe Haven showed up, and the rest is history. Apart from teaching and reviewing basic English, we introduced new vocabulary and took turns speaking and asking the kids questions. One of our priorities was to create a friendly environment that encouraged kids to try. We want them to gain experience speaking English and we want to help build confidence. We also played games such as Bingo and "I have never..." The best part, however, is that we included lunch! The kids got to experience American food at its best: lasagna, salad, cheesy biscuits, and homemade lemon bars for dessert. We had iced tea and lemonade to drink, and the kids loved it. Apart from teaching English, we wanted to share American culture and traditions.
This is Lexi reviewing the verb "to be."
Lena (the one grinning for the camera) can speak English well and helped translate for us.
Nadya, Vova, and Dima busy at work. 

To sum it up, English Club went great!!! The next Club date fell on 4th of July, and so we prepared a specially themed lesson. We taught vocabulary surrounding Independence Day, played the National Anthem, said the Pledge of Allegiance, and showed pictures and video clips of tradition things people do on the 4th. All the kids want to go to a demolition derby now, and it is questionable whether or not Ukrainians like bluegrass (Sorry Pagosa Hot Strings)! For lunch we grilled up some burgers and served them with potato chips, deviled eggs, and watermelon. That's the 4th in a nutshell, right? We had a blast!
For dessert we had pie with ice cream. Wish you were here, Dad.
I would call English Club a raging success, but the truth is, we love these kids and want to do everything we can to help them. Stay tuned; next Wednesday's club is college themed with a few modifications. In other words, if I serve what my college cafeteria served, the kids would never come back. Therefore, we are making homemade macaroni and cheese, salad, garlic bread, and cookies. Until then!


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