Some information about the placement

So I wanted to write a little bit about my placement, Chumchon Suan Ruen Daycare, as the process was interesting to me.

Benz would drop me off first in the morning, and I'd hop out of the van and then take an over cross over the highway to the other side, where i'd then turn right, walk past food vendors cooking meats, turn an immediate sharp left and wander down this back alley.  Going down the alley you pass a man selling lots of different vegetables and various goods, and every morning i'd give them a look over as the setting was just so curious to me.  One thing I learned about Bangkok, and maybe Thailand/Cambodia in general, is that there are lots of areas that I wouldn't even think about wandering down at home that here have amazing little shops, markets, food vendors and experiences.  Back alleys, or sois, are just a treasure bed of memories here.

The stall on the soi with the day care.

The day care is on your right after you've gone down the soi a short way, behind a brown sliding metal fence.  When you first walk in, you're in this open pavement area where there will be a table set up, a little pool area where the 'well nourished' dog swims, and benches and various chairs on either side.  To the left is Poi's house, where Poi, Mama Poi, and perhaps the younger sister live.  To your right is the day care, fenced off in some areas and yet open in others.  Always remove your shoes, but it helps to wear shoes you can just slip on and off because you will be going in and out a lot through the day, assisting with food, water, following kids around the playground, or just various things.  Also, sometimes the children spill food or water, or actually in certain areas urinate right on the ground, so if you're not in the classroom, I'm just going to suggest you be wearing shoes.

(heres a shot from the children's side of the fenced area, with the classroom behind me and Poi's house in the shot.)

General schedule of events depending on what time you get there:
The children were always already started by the time our van got there, so:

• The kids will be going through prayers, songs that teach to bow and basic manners, stretches.  The children always group greeted me as well.  Of note, you don't bow the same way to the kids as you do adults, nor do you do it first.  The children will greet you, and I think its okay to put your hands together, but they'll greet you and then you respond back.  To all adults, you bow your head, palms pressed together, and greet them first.  They may or may not respond with the head bow/palms pressed, but they will respond.
• Poi usually asked me to sing songs, either Hokey Pokey or Wheels on the Bus, etc, and then they'd go through the Thai alphabet, colors, days of the week, numbers, and story time, with interjections of me going through the same in English.  
• The days of the week chart on the wall is also color coded with the 'colors of the day' to help teach that as well.
• The children break in between to go drink water or milk, whatever the case may be.  If you hear them repeating the word "Nam", that means water, and is the cue. Help with encouraging the children to wash their hands outside the back door before they run over for a drink.
• The kids will all go outside to play as well.  Some stick around on the concrete part but I always ended up on the slide/swings/dirt area with the boys.  They have a good ole time out there, playing in the dirt, filling up trash, and chasing each other.
• Yes, there is a lot of trash just floating around, various bags and plastic that would never be allowed in America, but is quite common here.  The children loved filling up the bags with sand, and I found that throwing away the trash did little to discourage it.  Just keep an eye out for any who might start to stick it in their mouth (not an issue I saw) or sharp bits.  I found one child playing with a broken plastic ruler, and distracted them to safely remove it.  I also found broken glass behind the benches in the back lot, where lots of the kids like to play, so just keep an eye out.
• After play time is Lunch.  I helped with setting up the tables, chairs, the food distribution and the water.  Sometimes you have to encourage the kids to keep eating, sometimes not.
• Lom is usually laying out the children's bed mats at this point, which I helped with sometimes.  It involved laying out the mats in order (never with feet pointed at someone elses head) and pulling their clean clothes out of their bags and placing the bags back on the beds.
• As the kids finish eating, they'll start to wander off one by one towards the playground again, so I spent the rest of the time watching the kids out there and playing with them. 
• The girls would get ushered off to shower, so I spent most of my time with the boys.
• Showering is really hosing the children off around the side by the bathrooms, and after the girls have finished the boys are then rounded up and showered.
• I helped them change out of their clothes, dried off the boys as they came in, gave them the baby powder (always a big moment), and helped them dress again.
• The baby powder is a great moment.  One day I had like five of my little guys in front of me at the same time, and they were all laughing and joking, and when they smeared the baby powder all across their faces like warriors, they started pounding on their chests and striking poses.  It was a really cute moment, and I just keep seeing their smiling faces covered in powder.
• Nap time is a good moment.  They do a prayer, palms together, and then milk bottles are passed out to a few of the children.  Music is put on, an older woman singing, and the children lay down.  Some pass out quickly, some are restless and require some more supervision, but rubbing their backs or hands usually does the trick.  The kids are all precious.
• Usually after this, you sneak out, eat your food and chat with the teachers and locals.  Sometimes it was just me and the teachers, sometimes other older ladies from the community were there sharing food with us.  They liked to offer food, and we all communicated with each other in our own limited ways.  A few spoke better English than others, but they all spoke much better English than I did Thai.

Then it would be time to leave, and i'd say my goodbyes and head out to the main road to meet with Benz again.  I'd hang out on the bridge watching for him to approach, watching people and cars pass.