Mother's Group 6:30 am, Singing with the children, and touring Temples
We had an early start this morning, at the Bal Kendra Center at 6:15 to observe and help out with the Mother's group. Palmo, Kanchon and Shittal from HIO and about 20 mothers meet 4 days a week early in the morning. This is an amazing support for these women. THey are friendly and kind with each other and with us. They start with an introduction to us, each mother said a greeting and their name in English: "Good Morning my name is...."If they were shy and quiet, Palmo would remind them to speak up and speak clearly. At this meeting some mothers wanted to learn and work on knitting, others are learning bead work and a group are anxious to start practicing on the sewing machine. We showed the glass cases we brought from IDCS and opened the stitches on one to show them the process of right sides together and turning the fabric inside out. They quickly got the concept. Shittal, a staff member at the school, demonstrated and resewed that bag. The machine is very fast and takes off, controlling the speed is a skill they will need to master for smaller sewing tasks. Mrs.Woronecki helped cutting practice pieces for the women. There were lots of laughs and giggles, and rethreading the machine. It was a wonderful way to start out day (check out the short video of one new sewer below.)
The school day began and we mingled in with the classes. After lunch, we worked with one class and taught them the song Mrs McOmber's class sang to them: "I will sing my name around he world". We showed the globe and talked about where Nepal is and where our school is in Connecticut. We hung a chart with the song and a vocabulary key and reviewed the words and tune. The children picked up the song quickly. (view the video above, one of the children watching our IDCS students and then one of them singing their names )
Next we did a guided discovery with the instruments we brought over. The children (and teachers) were very excited, especially about the xylophone! none of them, teachers included had ever seen one, but knew it from a picture card they have in their classrooms. The children had fun using the instruments. We modeled some small ways they could be used: reviewing of the concept of opposites, playing loudly and softly, or fast and slow. (lots of noise and giggles!) This was a fun experience for all of us.
Our afternoon was spent with a bit of touring and learning a little history of Kathmandu through their temples and Durbar Square. Most Nepalis are Hindi, 80% and about 10% are Buddhist, while Muslims and Christian make up the remainder. We toured Swayambhunath Temple, popularly known as The Monkey Temple, due to the many monkeys that live nearby and roam the grounds freely. There are 385 stairs that lead up to the temple. they lead to a beautiful view of Kathmandu Valley.There are many stupas (mound shaped structures that are used for praying and mediation. The stupas are built with 5 layers, each representing a level towards enlightenment. The eyes represent god watching over us. Our guide had many stories about the myths of Buddhism and the lotus flower.
From the temple tour we headed to Durbar Square in Lalitpur. There are 3 Durbar Squares in this region: one in Kathmandu Valley, one in Bhaktapur, and one in Lalitpur (or Patan). THree brothers set up 3 different kingdoms in Nepal, each square unique and showing different aspects of Nepali life in the 17 century. Each square has a palace displaying the artisans of that region. This square had intricate carved wood frames and beams surrounded the bath courtyard and the sacrificial courtyards. The 2015 earthquake had an impact on this square and there is a lot of renovations underway. The square has many stupas and pagodas, and a temple for Krishna.It was very fascinating to learn about.
(pictures to follow tomorrow)