All I can say is that Delia is dynamic. She begins each exercise session with youth-like vigor and keeps it up the whole way through, at times outlasting some of the children. Things start off with some stretching and calisthenics to warm the kids up. She had them working on flexibility, core strength, balance, reaction speed- you name it. They danced a basic salsa step and even hopped around like frogs for a while (this seemed to be the favorite- every student’s face was alight with joy).
Delia has a special way of making this a fun experience for the kids: moving in a care-free way, laughing, shouting with glee and encouraging everyone else to do the same. She takes each activity lightly, gets on a level with the kids, and watches carefully to see what really catches their attention. After the surge of happiness at being able to hop around like a frog and make some noise, Delia decided to conduct a race across the room and back.
The students leaped in long frog-strides, often falling or rolling, some pushing off their knees to get more drive and others simply standing up and running for a bit to catch up. Their movements were blissful, each face shining with a smile or exploding in laughter. What a wonderful break from having to be seated and silent for extended periods of time!
The exercise session finished off with three laps of our cafeteria, which doubles as a gym, and some milk to feel refreshed and recharged for class. I’m not sure that’s what I’d be in the mood for after a workout, but the children drank it down thankfully. They walked back down the stairs in an organized file, hands behind their backs, struggling- it seemed- to hide the glee from their faces. “Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan,” writes G.K. Chesterton, “is the gigantic secret of the Christian.” It is my prayer that these young ones, as they are brought up at TEARS School, will encounter that boundless joy of the gospel and guard it in their hearts forever, letting it become the foundation for a life in God.
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 9th, 2008 at 6:14 pm and is filed under T.E.A.R.S. School, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
March 16th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Happy Birthday Derek!! Hope all is well with you as you turn one year older and I am sure this year you have grown more than one year wiser and closer to God! Anyway, it was great seeing you in the DR. The time I spent with you and your Dad and the family you live with was a special memory for me! God Bless, talk to you soon. Hello to everyone else at TEARS, you are all amazing people!