today, paul and kate brought 9 kids from the tent camp closest to the house (who can't afford to go to school) over to do an art project. i wanted to start with something simple so i cut sponges into squares, triangles, and circles to dip in paint and stamp on paper. well that held their attention for about 5 minutes! haha they were so cute though.
they came in quietly, not really sure about me (they know paul pretty well). most haitians are pretty shy at first, especially around "blancs" (whites). they generally will not speak unless spoken to. its just a cultural norm here. anyway, they sat down, listened to me while i explained the project &paul translated. i had one kid try out each shape to show the other kids. then we divided them into groups of three thinking they would rotate through the stations. that didn't work too well either haha. since they don't get to do things like that very often, its like fun overload. but they giggled and went back and forth making shapes on their papers. it was real fun.
in the future i think the neighborhood kids will benefit from projects that have several steps that take a little longer, maybe something a little more complicated or new. it didn't take them very long to figure out how to do it and then they were over it. i need to plan things for them that will hold their attention a little longer.
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