Despite it being quite clear that winter is out to get us with its prevailing grey skies and daily drizzle, this has not deterred us over the past two weeks from setting up tent on the Plaza- be it a little more quiet than usual... Now, the fact that our new local storage space is located at such unimaginably-close-to-dreamlike vicinity clearly has something to do with it. In less that 7mns (and this is ¨driving¨ it safe & soundly!), we are out, on display and ready to play…this means that conversely, we are able to whip it all up and swiftly seek shelter before the showering skies take us by surprise!! ;0 What has been a slight ¨cooler¨ these last few days however has been a circulating cold between the kids, Cuéntamelo Todo´s team and some external contributors, leaving us slightly runny nosed, red-eyed and voiceless, as was the case last week for example with Gladys & Geoconda, our local heath centre partner re
ps. Despite the rain this week, they managed to make it with a couple of bags of fresh fruits and other healthy foods to talk to the kids about the importance of eating well. As you may remember, we have already covered this topic with the UMSC last year (Some Food for Thought) but as we are proceeding with the referrals of our kids to this health centre, acute vitamin deficiencies have been diagnosed, many of which that can easily be overcome if the right foods are eaten. And for that to be reality, well it simply helps to be informed about which ones these are, why and where to find them! To reinforce this session we had a couple of boards on that specific theme posted on la escuelita; post Gladys & Geoconda´s intervention, the kids naturally picked up on these in an informed manner…the message had thus been received and the mission accomplished.
As you will see (please meet ¨El Galpon¨), we have successfully managed this week to dress up our storage space with the mobile school´s 250 boards and sorted these by themes and difficulty levels to be able to better visualize our stock and alternate the games for our kids to make the most out of what we actually have to offer. This past & next couples of weeks are an interesting tester to see in fact which ones we are using & how the kids are responding.
Now that we are out 3 times weekly and that we have had over 700 different kids visit us since we started Cuéntamelo Todo
a year ago, it is exciting to see how those who are returning adapt and interact with our new didactic tool. It is clearly another platform to spend some time alone or accompanied by one of us, a sibling or parent, concentrate, 
challenge oneself, and compete &/or play with a friend or a complete stranger, with at times even, an opportunity to make a new friend…
Also, when before some kids would shyly stand in front of a game and it was our challenge to reach out & explain before they hustled off, you now hear an ¨Oyé Seño¨ and feel something drag you (by the hand if you are lucky!) to a designated game for a swift explanation. This indeed shows curiosity, no fear and a legitimate ¨if this is here for me to play then I should know how it works¨- a clear right put in practice!
a year ago, it is exciting to see how those who are returning adapt and interact with our new didactic tool. It is clearly another platform to spend some time alone or accompanied by one of us, a sibling or parent, concentrate, 
challenge oneself, and compete &/or play with a friend or a complete stranger, with at times even, an opportunity to make a new friend…
Also, when before some kids would shyly stand in front of a game and it was our challenge to reach out & explain before they hustled off, you now hear an ¨Oyé Seño¨ and feel something drag you (by the hand if you are lucky!) to a designated game for a swift explanation. This indeed shows curiosity, no fear and a legitimate ¨if this is here for me to play then I should know how it works¨- a clear right put in practice!
On Thursdays, Cuéntamelo Todo´s mobile library is still lending its books- some 250
books have been loaned to the kids since we first started last October. We have recently taken stock of the books and to our surprise a few have gone astray... The challenge is hence at the moment to help our kids remember to remind their parents (& themselves!) to bring these back as part of the deal of is: a book lent for a book returned! Time will tell…;0
books have been loaned to the kids since we first started last October. We have recently taken stock of the books and to our surprise a few have gone astray... The challenge is hence at the moment to help our kids remember to remind their parents (& themselves!) to bring these back as part of the deal of is: a book lent for a book returned! Time will tell…;0 Next week, we should be starting to refer our kids for dental checks at the UMSC. We will be initiating with the 50-odd kids who have already completed blood & preventive checks and are now registered at the health centre. We will use this second wave of referrals as an opportunity to distribute the little ¨Cuéntamelo Todo¨ keychain we have designed. This holds information on existing local institutions that provide free services for children such as shelter, food, education, as well as psychological, legal and medical attention. All the information is listed in such a way that kids, once they have identified their need & corresponding institution, can also locate it on a map and, should they need to, find their way themselves.
