First Two Weeks of School

One of our primary focuses here in Cameroon is our school, Faith Builders Educational Ministry. This ministry provides quality education with a focus on character and Christian values to the children of Cameroon. Today we started our third week of school! It has been a crazy busy time, but so exciting to be back to school! Check out these pictures! 

Every morning we have our opening program. We sing the national anthem, pledge to the Bible, play "Mr. H. says." have a Bible lesson, practice memory work and sing "This is the Day!" On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the kids wear the blue sports wear for P.E. Last year we had 7 students... this year we have 16 if you count Carys (and she definitely thinks she is one of the students). It's fun to have more kids to do things with, while still having a manageable number. 

First day of school!

After opening, the kids separate into their classes. Brittney has the largest class, teaching 7 kids how to read. They range from 4 and 1/2 to 9 years old. 

Extra prayers for Brittney as she is potty training Carys and teaching her class at the same time. :)

Melanie is one of Brittney's students, here working hard on her phonetics lessons. 

 

 Jonathan is also learning how to read this year! It is amazing to see him growing and learning!

Mrs. Takem has the next class with 5 students (one didn't come the first day). She is teaching them kindergarten, learning their numbers, letters, shapes and so forth. She is a good teacher and the children really do seem to enjoy their class. 

Mine is the smallest class, with just three students right now, but they are moving very quickly through their schoolwork and do keep me pretty busy. Hannah is almost finished with 4th Grade, while Joshua is in 2nd and Emmanuel is almost done with 1st. Each student works at their own pace and masters material before passing to the next level. 

It has been good to be back in the Learning Center. The hammer is to nail up a blackboard. Carys is a de facto student. :D 

Hannah's first test of the year- she got a 100% on a fairly hard test (covering division, long multiplication and more). 

At 10:00 it is break time! The kids are excited to get outside for a little bit and be able burn some energy. 

Our playground equipment is in a shoddy state... we have 2 balls, a busted wagon and a slide that is falling apart. We hope to get some stuff welded soon, but in the meantime... 

The kids find ways to entertain themselves :D 

After break, it is time to get back to school. We try and use many different tools to help the kids, whether it is having them practice their math drills on a tablet, or using a math kit. 

Each day, the two older classes have their French classes with Mrs. Takem. Cameroon is a bilingual nation, where much of the population speaks French, so it is a vital skill for them to be able to speak and use French. 

Gaelle, Thelma and Nyallum, three of Brittney's students, enjoying their French classes.  

Mr. Takem teaching the older kids how to use computers. Our computer lab/library has grown from 1 computer to 4! The kids really really enjoy this class. 

Our friend Neville, who will be an assistant professor at the University of Buea this year, comes and teaches the kids' Art class on Fridays! Seems like they enjoy this class as well...  lots of smiles! 

Ngu, our "office assistant." Ngu is a university student who used to work with his mom in a small secretarial business. He has been a huge help this year getting things photocopied, laminated, put in plastic and otherwise taking care of much of the office busy work that we need done. He even tore down and repaired our lamination machine! 

George comes each day to either teach the music class or... 

PE! The kids really like both classes! Mondays and Wednesday, they learn new songs and sing with all their hearts, and Tuesdays and Thursdays, George helps them with PE. George is a big help wherever there is a need.

PE comes at the end of a busy day of school, and the kids are always full of energy to burn, after sitting still for quite a while. They are a good group and it has been a tremendously blessed day of school.

Brother Wilson, with his rebuilt taxi (Brittney's old two door Toyota Yaris) comes to bring the kids to school and then returns at 1:00 to drop them off each day. It is a busy but great day of school, and we pray God continues to provide the energy and finances throughout the school year! We greatly appreciate all of your involvement and especially being able to use Brian and Jael Harris' home for this! Thanking God for a great start to a great year!