Bal-Kendra

After breakfast in our hotel, Ram met us and we walk to The Bal-Kendra Learning Center. The children gathered in the school yard to greet each other and play. We are noticing that children all over the world laugh, play and greet each other in similar ways. The school yard quickly filled up with the sounds and motion of happy children. Once their day is about to begin, a routine of washing hands and feet, and getting a drink of water begins. they form lines under the shade tarp and begin a bit of exercise and sing the national anthem. Children then very orderly gather their materials and  walk to their classroom. At this center there are 3 classes: Class A which is a pre-school aged group of children, Class B is similar to K and Class C is like 1st grade equivalent. We are impressed with the established routines the children have learned and follow. It is evident that the teachers have spent time introducing routines. The children help set up their own space and get right to practicing their activities. Teachers pull small groups for different guided lessons on handwriting and math. The classroom spaces are well organized to allow the children to manage materials and their space. We observed and interacted with children during their morning activities. After an hour, some children begin to rotate to a library session , leaving a smaller group in the classroom to work with their teacher. The other classes rotate small groups as well to a computer lab (donated by Intel) to work on The Waterford Reading Program. 

These initial 4 hours at the school gave us a sense of a strong community of hard working teachers and excited little learners. We were offered a lunch of rice and cooked vegetables and ate as the children were served lunch as well. After lunch a group of older students who were once at Bal-Kendra, came back for the afternoon to study and do homework (their school is having exams and early dismissal). We had a clear sense that the returning children loved this school and staff. 

We returned to the hotel and met Ram and another American teacher who just arrived in Nepal. We walked around Thamel shops and stopped in to buy our ticket to Pokara. We had a brief stop for a cool drink and a snack before saying good bye for the day. 

Our evening included a dinner of Mo Mo (vegetable dumplings!) and Dal Braht (rice and curry) all delicous!