Where are they now.... red cross kids

So, this one is mostly for past volunteers who want to know what the kids are up to.

Ha and Thanh

feeding time

As you can see both these girls are feeding themselves now (remember back in January when getting Ha to hold the spoon would be a battle Sally, Now she won't let you take the spoon off her when she is done!). Thanh is still a bit messy, but practice makes perfect I say! I am also an advocate for shirtless lunch times. That way even if I wasn't here to supervise..... the carers might see, and follow suit, and have one less reason (cleaning them, washing more clothes) not to let the girls feed themselves. At least we can keep practicing everyday I am here!

Ha playing with other kids

Thanh is also walking all by herself. She will grab at anything possible to hold on to, but she will walk across the room alone as well! Such an improvement! She does still throw toys - a lot..... but she will also play with toys (particularly if someone sits with her to show her how!)

Ha's play skills are improving too. She enjoys playing with other kids now, often riding on the cars with them. Even more of an improvement though, she will play on her own and be quite happy. Bouncing on the "roger" horse things, riding around on the cars or sometimes pretend play feeding dolls. From the girl who would just follow you around with a sock asking you to put it on her, then taking it off and repeating the cycle, or wandering off out the gate if no one plays the sock game with her - it's a pretty big deal!


Nga

practicing drawing

Nga is a totally different little girl to the kid I met in January. Well, mostly different (we have occasional lapses into I'm-going-to-explore-this-medicine-cabinet moods if she feels ignored).

Nga loves to interact and does so much more productive play now! I try to give her jobs to keep her part of whatever we are doing (putting the dirty clothes into the washing basket when changing other kids nappies, I know Phuc has been getting her to help him while he does physio with other kids too). She does demand high 5's and much praise for each baby shirt safely delivered into the washing basket....... But that seems a small price to pay for happiness!

Nga giving herself at thumbs up after finishing
another puzzle

Nga quite enjoys drawing so today we worked on doing purposeful lines (up and down, sideways, circles, x's all those pre-prep groups watching OTs is paying off) instead of giant scribbles. When she gets it and gets a high 5 her whole faces lights up with pride and joy, it is amazing to watch!

Puzzles are still her favorite activity, and I am working on sign language while doing these. She seems to understand that different signs have different meanings, and get her what she wants! Teaching her more, and teaching the carers is the next step. The puzzles are getting more and more complex, from simple peg puzzles, which she needed lots of guidance to find the right hole and turn the pieces to make them fit, a few months ago to picture puzzles today - which she did amazingly at!

Deep in puzzle concentration

I am trying to think of a way to allow her access to the puzzles and building blocks, which stops that other kids being able to get into them. The difficulty is that most other kids are so young that they just want to pick up whatever toy someone else is playing with, walk around with it for a while, scream if you try to return the puzzle piece to the puzzle..... then drop it somewhere never to be seen again.

I am not totally sure how much she would enjoy the puzzles or blocks without the constant attention.... but as she gets more settled I am trying to lessen the high 5's for every single piece put in place - just for finishing the whole puzzle, or building the tower so high it falls down. Hopefully I can wean her off a little of that praise! Get her enjoying the game itself! But any suggestions of how a very tricky 9 year old can get into the toys..... but a collection of 3 year old can't, would be appreciated. I am thinking of going with height, but these kids are pretty good at playing stack-em-ups


I have ranted for quite a lot about Nga here....but to be honest I would say she is the child at red cross who has made the most changes. And who has gone from having basically nothing expected of her, to learning skills and problem solving. I am really happy with all the changes :)

Tam lifting her arms 

Tam is looking well. Her chest is mostly clear at the moment, and her cradle cap (or whatever it is that was happening on her head!) is almost all gone. These two health concerns clearing up have to make life a bit nicer for her! She adores the ramp and being taken for a walk outside in her chair. Bumps and lumps to go over have her laughing hysterically!

Tu and I work on a lot of standing when he is feeling up to it (he lets me know if he isn't!). He has such tiny little bird bones, I figure some weight bearing has to be a good thing for him!

helping to pack away toys

Thao (aka Spidie) and Phuc work on lots of standing and trying to take steps. She is still convinced that her craby crawl is the best way to get around. And she certainly does get around mighty fast! Hopefully seeing Thanh walking more and more will help motivate her a little.



The three (very cheeky) amigos are getting into just as much mischief as ever, but I don't expect (or want - I love their spunk) them to change any time soon! They really are only as crazy as I would expect any group of toddlers to be. Especially ones with minimal supervision!

"helping" to clean something up
(I'm not really sure anything needed mopping anyway :P)

I am trying to motivate them to do some drawing. They are always very excited to come and start, actually putting pencil to paper, or sticking with it for more than a minutes is no so successful. I have so far had no success in trying to teach one that the point of pencils isn't to bite off the end - then hold it out asking for a new one because yours wont write..... But with time, maybe they will come to enjoy colouring, or scribbling.

Trying his hardest to steal my camera!