miércoles, febrero 23, 2011

Vamos a Fantástico Mundo! -- We're going to Fantastic World!

Written by Megan Hettwer

This past Friday, Abriendo Mentes made an exciting announcement to its English class students- there would be a field trip to Fantastic World this weekend! Sunday February 20th finally arrived and 50 students, parents and volunteers met bright and early at the A.M. office to hop on a bus and head out of Potrero for a day full of fun. Thanks to generous support from Bahia del Sol and Elizabeth Cole and transportation provided by Las Catalinas Development, Abriendo Mentes was able to take the children to nearby Fantastic World- home to many different types of inflatables (some even boasting water!). Full of energy, the kids boarded the bus with anticipation for the great day ahead of us.

Despite their intense excitement, the students patiently waited in line

We arrived at Fantastic World around 10:00 am. The children quickly changed into their bathing suits and ran to the back of the park, toward the inflatables with water. A break from the heat was just what everyone needed! The giant waterslide was a huge hit, and the kids barreled down it at top speeds.

Racing toward the giant waterslide!

It's hard to tell from pictures, but this slide was fast!

The dragon slide and pool were also popular. Luckily, we had volunteer Emily to monitor how many kids were on the slide at once- too many and the inflatable might collapse! We also used the trip to continue working on the action words we had practiced in class throughout the week. The kids had a great time showing and telling us how to swim, jump, bounce, and slide. It's amazing how well they retain information when they can use their knowledge to talk about activities that they enjoy.

The dragon may look a bit scary, but looks can be deceiving!

The pool at the bottom of the dragon slide was very cool and refreshing

The students spent the morning excitedly running around from one inflatable to the next, playing happily with each other and all of the volunteers. After everyone was done eating lunch the volunteers and parents began rounding up the kids to return home. The students obediently boarded the bus to head back to Potrero, noticeably sleepier then they were when we had arrived . . .

Melissa had so much fun she fell asleep on the bus ride home

As the bus dropped everyone off in Potrero, all of the students thanked A.M. profusely for putting on such a fun field trip. But, we couldn't have done it without all of the help and support we received from Bahia del Sol, Elizabeth Cole and Las Catalinas Development. Thanks for making this field trip so wonderful!

Everyone had a blast!

lunes, febrero 14, 2011

Libros para Todos - Books for Everyone!

By: Meradith Leebrick

Friday, February 11th kicked off the distribution of the Libros para Todos book drive, organized in our area by Las Catalinas Development and Bahia del Sol Hotel.

The national Libros para Todos poster


Libros Para Todos is a national effort, spearheaded by Grupo La Nacion, the national Costa Rican newspaper. The ultimate goal is to provide every child with donated books in the four core subjects, Spanish, Math, Science and Social Studies, for the 2011 year. Abriendo Mentes helped this goal become reality for Potrero, Tempate and Huacas.

All of the Puerto Potrero primary school students

The day could not have been better. Drew and I were invited to the book distribution event in the Potrero primary school, and we were greeted with smiles, hugs and "how are you"s from all of the A.M. students. We were also joined by Charles Brewer, the President of Las Catalinas Development, Michael Garcia, also from Las Catalinas , and Maria Fernanda Esquivel from Bahia del Sol Hotel.

Stacks of the donated books!

It was an action packed morning; the third graders sang (featuring Cindy Yuelka with a solo), the dance troop did a routine (of course, with Austin as the signature boy dancer) and we all presented the books to the school and students - over 400 books in total! After the presentation of books, all the students and guests enjoyed a proper Tico breakfast of gallo pinto and squeaky cheese to celebrate the book donation.

The third graders singing

What a great dance!

I can honestly say that I have never seen children so happy to start a new year of school and receive text books. Friday made everything worth it.

Barbara, Nayelli, Valentine and Cesar greet us in school
A non-profit organization enhancing education and empowering communities in rural Costa Rica.

Events Calendar