Lets Be Ready

"Education helps the person to learn to be what he is capable of being" (Hesiod).

Hello everyone!
We hope that both you and your family are well. Receive a warm greeting from everyone in the program and from our children.

First I want to start by apologizing for not writing sooner. But now that education in our country has returned to normal; we are more busy in the care of our children.

This year we once again have 23 communities in which our program is supporting; and we have 22 teachers. Most of our communities managed to start classes in mid-January and others in the first week of February. Thanks to the support provided in these communities, this year we have enough children in each center.

We had our first workshop of the year with the teachers, from January 17-20. The central theme was: “ideas to start the school year”. We all bring different ideas, including some new ones; what we can do in the adaptation phase and how much to work on the different issues that are worked on at the beginning of the year. Also, we learned different ways of telling a tale or story, using objects, making a book with recyclable material, among others...

This year, we decided to implement an evaluation that is done before school starts and after the end of the school year. It is called “Bracken School Readiness Assessment”, it is a subtest that contains a series of vocabulary questions about colors, letters, numbers, concepts and geometric figures. The objective is to know how much and what they know before entering school. And in the case of children who continue with us again, knowing in which group to place them based on what they already know. Personally, it helped me a lot to know how to start this year with the new children and where to continue with last year's.

Now that we are working daily, we made several reminders that it is important to work in the ROUTINE (activity with which we started classes), such as: the calendar, the alphabet, the weather, writing the date, numbers, days of the week , months of the year, etc.

Also, we already started with the nutrition program, with the nutritious drink "CHIPUDITOS". Children and parents are very happy to receive it, since they have already verified for themselves that it does work.

Unfortunately, due to all the changes in circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were affected in different fields; among them the economic situation of many changed resoundingly. For this reason, we want to ask for your support so that they continue to provide help to those who need it most. Also, sadly some of our sponsors also found it difficult to stay with us; and because of that, 6 of our teachers do not have a fixed support to continue working in their communities. Now, we are looking for ways to solve this situation. So, if it is in your possibilities to support us, we will thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our children and their communities will be very happy to know that they will continue to receive a free and quality education.

Thank you very much to those who already do it, they really help us to change the future of children and our country.

I look forward to writing to you soon and telling you the latest on our program. Please, take care of yourselves and a hug from Guatemala to everyone…

Hello everyone,
I wish the well-being of each one. Receive a cordial greeting and a warm hug from Guatemala...

We are very happy to have finished another year successfully. Now that everything has almost completely returned to normal, the results have been positive and satisfactory.

During these last months, each teacher celebrated independence with different activities; so that the children could learn about who they are, the culture to which they belong and civility. They made posters, crafts and dances. In some communities, teachers and parents were allowed to hold a small parade, as was done in previous years. We also noticed that the ideas seen in the last workshop helped them a lot to end the year...

Some of our schools even continued to work until November and early December; due to some delays. But, most finished at the end of October and beginning of November. There is no question that our teachers worked very hard to follow the directions they were given to work effectively with the children in class. It is obvious the progress and development that was achieved in each one of them. For example, the majority of 6-year-olds who spend the next year in the first grade of primary school; They already know how to read, write, add, subtract, use logical thinking for math problems, among other things.

Our 4 and 5 year olds have developed useful skills for the following year; whether they continue in the program or at another institution. “Personally, I am impressed with the intelligence and skills that we were able to develop further with them. This year I have learned a lot from each of my children, the skill with which they do things and the time each one uses to develop their abilities; It is something that has surprised me a lot. I believe that learning is reciprocal between children and teachers.

Of course, the help of the "Parents of Family" has been essential for the development and success of our little ones. The dedication and responsibility shown, make us see the interest they have for their children. For example, they went to great lengths to help our teachers by participating in and preparing for the end of the school year. In most of the schools, everyone's participation in supporting this activity was admirable. They were very happy about their children's achievements.

Obviously, all of this would not have been possible without the help of our beloved donors. The truth is that we have no words to thank everything they do for our children and us. Thanks to your donations, we have finished another year successfully. It has been worth the sacrifice and dedication put in by all of us who make up Lest's Be Ready. Many thanks! "May God Bless your generosity and solidarity." We hope to count on your help again for the next cycle, since it is a key piece of change in the education of our children.

Once again, from all of our teachers and founder Fred Zambroski: THANK YOU!

Greetings and blessings from Guatemala…

Hello everyone!
It is a pleasure to greet you, we are very excited to continue providing support and guidance to our children despite the circumstances and the progress we have made with them.

To continue training our new teachers and remember some important issues to finish the school year, a 2-day workshop was organized with the teachers of the program. As an important part of our daily plan, we carry out the “ROUTINE”. This is a designated space during the class to review daily topics such as: the phrase of the day, the weather, attendance, numbers, the alphabet and depending on the topic of the class, a dynamic is carried out to recapitulate. Although each teacher is different, he performs these activities in his own way; but always following the same sequence of everything included in the ROUTINE.

Also, we focus on the “math concepts” that our children should know; at the end of the school year. This part was in charge of Evelyn, Lucky, Lilian, Gloria and Roselia. Very creative and dynamic teachers who have been working with us for several years. We learned simple and fun ideas made with recyclable material to teach topics such as: Origami, Unit of Measurement, Mayan Numbers, Decimal Numbers, Addition, Subtraction, Symmetry, Fraction, Coins and How the clock works.

In conclusion, we had a very dynamic and participatory workshop by all the teachers. I think it was very helpful for the newcomers, because they are learning to get out of the traditional, which they have been taught in other institutions. And we have evaluated it, by reading the activities that you have described lately in your monthly reports. The truth is, it is impressive how they manage to make their children get ahead, they are warriors.

Unfortunately, some of our schools have been left without support, due to the global situation that COVID-19 has left behind; but we trust that it will be resolved soon, thanks to the contributions that very kindly reach us. Therefore, I want to ask your noble heart to continue supporting us with your donations. I assure you that with your help you can change the future of our children. Thank you very much if you are already doing it, may God bless you and multiply your work...

Soon, I will be informing you of what we have been doing and the activities that were carried out for the country's Independence Day.

See you soon! A big hug from Guatemala...

Hello everyone!
How are they? I wish and hope that they are well.

"Educating a child is not making him learn something he didn't know...
If not, make him someone who did not exist” (educapeques.com)

Without a doubt, this sentence is very true. Incredibly, time passes quickly, we are beginning the sixth month of the school year and the children are progressing very well. The truth is that I am very surprised by the great progress and results that both the children and the teachers have had; by putting into practice many of the new ideas that are given to them and that they themselves invent.

Many already know how to write their first and middle names, they recognize the colors, they already know the vowels and some numbers. They relate very well to each other and even help those who have a little difficulty in their learning. We have worked on the activities of some "Star" books to teach topics such as: the human body, the 5 senses, animals and their classification, sequences, days of the week and some consonants among others...

The truth is that we have had very good results, thanks to the effort, ingenuity and love with which our dear teachers teach. It has not been easy, as the pandemic continues to be a threat; In addition, there is still no vaccine for the little ones. So we are being very cautious with them to protect them.

Surely you remember Betzabé, one of our “star” teachers. The creativity and ability to relate so easily with others that she has is impressive, because now that she is supporting a new "village"; parents, children and people in general are very happy with their work. Thanks to that, our program has been helping and making itself known in more communities…

Also, our teacher Edvin López; he has shown to be very capable and dynamic in teaching. Thanks to the fact that he is well known in his community and has the support of other foreigners; They have shown him first-hand how to work with the “Montessori Method”. Even though he is not a preschool teacher, he does his job like one. This help has helped him grow as a professional and teach in a different, dynamic and fun way; unlike the traditional education that they carry out in local schools. We are very happy for his work and for that vocation to teach...

Of course, nothing we do would be possible without the help and support of our beloved sponsors and founder Fred Zambroski. We are aware that the situation is increasingly difficult and the problems that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought are worrying; but, we have come out ahead thanks to God and the loving help that they have given us. Thank you so much! I don't know what our program would be without you... Thank you for taking an interest in others and making our children see the future with optimism.

Please keep taking care of yourselves and cheer up. If we support each other, the results will be the best...

See you soon.

Hello! How have you been?
We hope everyone is well at home next to their loved ones...

Without a doubt, these last two years we have faced many obstacles in different aspects of life. But something that has helped us overcome them has been our positive attitude when facing them. We have verified what a Biblical Proverb says: "A joyful heart is good medicine, But a crushed spirit saps one’s strength” (Proverbs 17:22). How true those words are, a joyful heart has positive effects. In fact, a BBC News article quotes Dr Derek Cox, an official at the Scottish Ministry of Health, as saying: "He who is happy is less likely to get sick than he who is not". According to the same article, "people who are happier have better protection against things like heart disease and stroke".

For this reason, as a united group that aims to support the community with quality education, we have sought out different activities to continue and animate our classes. Because COVID infections have decreased and are different depending on the community; I am happy to tell you that in most of our communities they are working in person. Three times a week, for 3 hours. Obviously, always taking into account precautionary and biosecurity measures in each class and with each child. They wear the mask and are regularly disinfected.

This has given very good results, since the progress and development of the children is much better. In the beginning, it was a bit difficult with some children, because it was difficult for them to socialize after a long time. Despite that, everyone is very happy to attend the school. Even the parents are pleased with the progress. Their support has been very beneficial to our teachers.

I am not saying that the process of returning has been easy, because including teachers, it has cost us; for all restrictions and changing circumstances. But little by little we are coming back...

These last few months we have had many changes, such as the fact that some schools moved to other communities with more need of support, due to the abundant number of children. We also have two more teachers to serve these communities in Tecpán-Chimaltenango. We are very happy to be able to help more communities and to expand our program to more communities; because we see that our work is worthwhile and is both necessary and beneficial for our future professionals...

For this reason, we want to infinitely thank all our sponsors and donors for their support; May God Bless you for being so generous and giving us an opportunity to be part of the change. Thank you very much…

For the next report we will have more details about the new communities, so look forward to it…

Greetings from Guatemala.