Lets Be Ready

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.

Hello everyone, how are you?
I hope you and your families are well...

We are very happy and eager to start a new year with the program and to work with our children. And although classes start in February, we have prepared ourselves to welcome you with many ideas and activities.

We organize a workshop in January for our teachers, with the aim of reviewing and remembering some of the methods that we have been using in our schools; since these last two years, the classes have not been normal. In addition, we have 3 new teachers and one who had been there some time ago. Due to these changes, we found it necessary to focus on specific topics during the workshop.

Some of the topics to remember and review were: Critical Thinking, new ideas on Assessment, Reading and Writing Methods, Learning Centers, Small Groups, New Ideas for Star Books and a little about the Montessori Method. This workshop was held on January 26, 27 and 28.

For the presentations and exhibitions, we request the help of all our teachers; Of course, each one of them helped us in matters in which they are experts and that have had very good results when put into practice.

For example: Lidia, Gloria, Lucky and Roselia; who are part of the group of teachers with more years in the program, helped us with an excellent participation; exposing the methods we use: Learning Centers, Small Groups, Star Books and, Vowel Sounds and Alphabet.
Professor Edvin, who has been with us for 4 years, has been implementing the Montessori method, so we asked him to present us with some ideas that have been effective in his classroom.
Evelyn and Elba made a very good presentation about the Reading and Writing methods that we can use with 6-year-olds. By the way, this part, all the teachers loved it. The ideas you shared are very easy and effective. Personally, I learned the correct term for the method we use to teach reading, “Phonetic Method”.

In conclusion, despite the fact that it was only 3 days, due to the Pandemic; we left filled with many reminders, knowledge and ideas to do during this year. We hope to have good results by the middle of the year for our second workshop. Without a doubt, it was a lot of learning for everyone. Surely you will notice our excitement to start practicing these ideas in the images below…

For this reason, we always want to thank our beloved founder Fred Zambroski for his trust and support. Also for our dear donors, without you we could not continue helping to make Education better and of quality for all, despite the pandemic. Many thanks! For your contribution. May God Bless you and continue to give you health.

Hi all!
How are they? How are you? I hope well and I wish the well-being of you and your families ...

First I want to start by apologizing for not putting news about us on the page, we have been a little behind with the end of the school year and overcoming some of the challenges that have been put in our way.

We are very happy and satisfied to have finished another year with success, despite so many changes due to the Pandemic. It was certainly not easy for any of us; But believe me when I tell you that everything we did with our boys and we achieved was thanks to the fact that we did it with all our hearts; with the help of parents and obviously thanks to the donations that you willingly send us.

We were able to close the groups in the 25 schools that we had available this year. Without a doubt, it was very emotional for everyone, because despite the obstacles, the children obtained very good results in their development, in improving their skills and obviously in their learning. The work of each of the teachers was also noted, as they were very dynamic in the activities and in the methods they used to teach. In addition to also guiding parents so that learning continued at home and thus not losing the monitoring of teaching.

The parents were one more tool that we used for the children to advance. The truth was surprising to see their response, because the vast majority were always on the lookout or in contact with the teachers to do the activities with their children at home; Some even asked for ideas of what they could do to advance further or for their son to learn in another way if he was having a hard time.

So in conclusion, we were all part of the success achieved during this school year. We are proud of the progress made in our children. Once again, I repeat: it would not have been possible without your donations. Many thanks! You are part of the pillars that keep our program high. May God bless you and your families. From Guatemala we send you many hugs and greetings ...