The voice once heard perishes,
[but] the letter once written remains.
Roman proverb
The past few weeks have been busy for us (as evidenced by the lack of posting on the blog), with AC coming and going from town, and SC and I just trying to keep up.
One of the things we worked on last week was our second letter to Oneydi, the little girl we sponsor through Compassion International. As I prepared to blog about what we sent and wrote in our second letter, I realized that I failed to mention anything about our first letter, so this week my Top Ten Tuesday is a conglomeration of our first two letters to Oneydi.
1. Handwritten letters & handwritten translations: I mentioned before that we chose Oneydi because her birthday is only two days after SC's, and I thought it would be neat for SC to dictate (mostly) the letters to me to send. Of course, SC thought this was a great idea, so both of the letters were "written" by SC and I just did the physical writing. I also decided to use my limited (four years in high school) Spanish to translate the letters myself, because I really wanted Oneydi and her family to see that we are investing in them. I know that they will probably still go through a translator at Compassion, but I wanted them to have a hand-written translation as well.
2. Photos: We sent both a picture of our entire family, as well as a picture of just SC. I hope to send updated pictures every six months of SC, because she grows and changes so much.
3. Artwork/pictures: SC made what she calls "cards" for Oneydi that she stamped, drew, decorated, glittered and doodled on, including writing both her own and Oneydi's names.
4. Map: We sent a map of North and Central America, circling the USA, and coloring in El Salvador and Texas, so that Oneydi would be able to see where we are located in proximity to her. SC has an identical map that she has put up on her mirror in her bedroom, along with a picture of Oneydi.
5. Stickers: What little girl doesn't just love stickers? SC picks out the ones she thinks Oneydi might like the best, and for the first letter we sent monkeys and butterflies, and in the second letter we sent zoo animals and hearts.
6. Flash cards: We found some bilingual flash cards at Target that have both the English and Spanish on one side and a simple image on the other. Since Oneydi is still young and probably not reading yet, I hope that these flash cards can be utilized by either the workers at the Compassion Center or even by her parents. I know they do not have a "preschool" program for her to go to, so I hope I can send a few things that might supplement that.
7. Alphabet worksheets: Along with the flashcards to help Oneydi learn to read, we sent pages torn from a "Brainquest" workbook that focus on letters. I send the letters "A" through "E," and will continue sending through the rest of the alphabet in chunks.
8. Dot-to-Dot sheets: These are both follow-the-number and follow-the-letter sheets that create images, which Oneydi can color.
9. Color by number/letter: Again, more fun activities to help her learn her numbers and letters.
10. Mazes: These are simple mazes that will help her with fine motor skills like writing, as well as (as they get more difficult) logical thinking.
Of course, I have to assume that Oneydi has access to things like pens, pencils, markers, crayons, etc. I really wish we were able to send some along, though I do understand why they are not allowed. I also have to assume that the worksheets in English are easy enough for someone who may only speak Spanish to figure out. I may have to see if I can find some activity books that are in Spanish.
Also, I found a bilingual book of Mother Goose nursery rhymes that I am going to attempt to send next time. I am hesitant to tear a book up, but apparently the only way to send them is completely deconstructed.
Do you sponsor a child through Compassion International or another group? If so, what kinds of things do you send to your children? Leave a comment, then check out other Top Ten Tuesday posts here:
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