El Mes de la Patria

This month, we celebrated "el mes de la Patria"... Independence day and patriotism month in Costa Rica! The kids were busy all month learning about their home country, including the national anthem, history and customs. As a culminating activity, they made books with pictures of the flag, the carreta (the national symbol of work), and the national shield, among others. We love Costa Rica!

Independence Day in Costa Rica

Feliz Dia de la Independencia!

Students show off their homemade Faroles

Today we are celebrating the Costa Rican Independence Day!

As part of the festivities, the kids at school made "faroles" for the 14th of September. Faroles, homemade lanterns that carry a candle, are a typical part of the Costa Rican celebration. In 1821, Delores Bedoya ran through the streets of what is now Guatamala City (the political capital of Guatamala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Costa Rica at the time), carrying a farol and calling citizens to gather in the center of town, where a council was meeting. On the 15th, Independence was declared. In rememberence of this event in history, Costa Rican children make faroles and gather in center of town, letting the spirit of independence shine bright!

September 9th is Kids' Day in Costa Rica!

On September 9th we celebrated "Dia del Nino"- a holiday that celebrates kids! The students were so excited at the small party we threw for them and kept exclaiming "This is the best Kids' Day EVER!" We played traditional field games and then after enjoying a snack of cupcakes and ice cream, all the kids rushed outside to take their turn at trying to break open the piñata. Great fun for all!

Keilyn takes her best shot at the pinata...
Look how excited everyone is!

Vielka and Valerie ready for the egg race!

Somehow the "Big Kids" ended up as the bottom of the wheel-barrel... not every day you see a 4 year old taking the drivers seat with no doubt she can handle it :)

Another Rain, More Flooding & Loss at School

My phone rang on the way to school this morning and it was one of the mothers asking if we still had classes today. "Yes," I responded, confused why she would ask. Moments later upon arriving at the school, I quickly realized why she asked. Hard rains had poured down for around four hours the night before and the school had flooded...again. Unfortunately, the events of last June's flooding were not a one-time occurrence. School had to be cancelled and the kids and parents who showed up pitched in to help get the water out and clean up the mess. The hardest part was seeing so many of our precious books damaged by the water. The children put them out to dry and we are doing our best to try to salvage them, but many seem to be a lost cause. Some of the children's homes also flooded and one of our students, Emily, already lost her home this year due to the floods. It is the rainy season here until November, so there is probably more of this to come, but one thing is for sure... we are going to have to move what is left of our small library to the hallway on the second floor! Please contact us if you are interested in making a donation to help rebuild the library or repair other damages. As always, thanks for reading!