Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Santa came to visit.

Alan played Santa, much to the children's delight. Most of them knew it was someone familiar of course, though a few were a bit thrown by his shiny red suit. It's actually much better for our children to have a Santa they know,and who doesn't wear a fake beard. They've all had trauma in their lives, and we don't want to frighten them on Christmas day. Here's a selection of our "Santa shots" for you to enjoy.
Dear little Angel is looking so sweetly up at the camera. Shape sorting games are great toys for encouraging problem solving skills and spacial awareness. We are sure Angel will have this mastered in no time.
Tiny Benjamin has a lovely soft toy which is just about bigger than he is. We hope it will bring him a lot of comfort and help him to feel secure.
 Hannah and Santa are posing by the Christmas tree. Children (and adults!) in China will almost always pose for pictures with two fingers held up like this.
Patience seems to enjoy snuggling up to that soft furry trim on Santa's coat.
 Beautiful Little Swallow is keeping her hands on her gift - we love toys which provide sensory stimulation and mental challenges for the children. Stacking from largest to smallest is actually an early  basic mathematical skill. We can also use toys like this to teach colours in both Chinese and English. And it's all good fun - which is so important for little ones!
Paul has a good grip on his markers. We will look forward to some beautiful one-year-old masterpieces for the Butterfly Home fridge! 

 Jesse's toy has lots of texture and makes noises- just perfect for a boy learning to investigate the world using sound and touch.
Sarah is concentrating hard on the unwrapping process. She is waiting to see what is under all that bubble-wrap.
Stay tuned - there are still more Christmas pictures to come!

1 comment:

Drew and Rachel said...

Alan you look ridiculous...
ridiculously AWESOME.