kids are dirty

i spend wednesday evenings helping out with a christian organization called Jubilee Reach. they are a sort of community center that is located next to an elementary school. the kids in the area are dropped off pretty early by their parents who have to work at the crack of dawn. so the organization offers a before school program for kids so that they are not sitting outside in the school playground unattended. the organization also offers an after school program for kids to help with homework, or to learn a musical instrument etc. They also offer programs for parents to learn how to use a computer or how to speak english (there are a lot of spanish families in the area). to encourage parents to come to these classes, the organization offers child care. i am that child care.

at first, it was just a handful of kids. i can do that. not a problem. they aren't too crazy. generally well behaved. i could even play games with a couple of them while the others played by themselves. it used to be really quiet and peaceful. then the computer classes started and with it came the kids.

it went from 5-6 kids to about 15-18 kids in one week. i needed more help. each week, i was afraid i would be the only adult to show up to watch all these kids. but God provided and there were always at least two adults plus a couple of high school students looking for community hours.

as i watch 15-18 kids playing with each other in a relatively spacious room, i am reminded of how dirty kids can be. there is one infant that comes from time to time. one week, she did a poo in her diaper. her mom was in class but had conveniently left a diaper bag in the classroom. her sister looked at me and said, she needs a diaper change. yes... yes she didn't need to tell me, i could smell it. the washroom didnt' have a diaper table and i couldn't just change the diaper in front of 15 other kids so i had to take her out of the room and change her diaper in the empty foyer. i felt bad for the baby since there was a draft of cold air there but she was smiling and content - clean diaper! yay! so i changed her diaper. i haven't done that in years but i still know how to do it. i was reminded by her sister to wash my hands. again, no need to tell me.

yesterday, i was playing with some kids and i noticed that one of them had a streak of dried boogers on his face. it was like he had taken the back of his hand and wiped his nose. i could also tell that he had more boogers in his nose as he was breathing. so before he used his hand again and then played with all the toys, i went over and got a kleenex and told him to blow his nose into it. lots of boogers. do it again just to be safe. then after this, he wanted to jump high so he took my hands (oh my...) and jumped up and down for a good 5 minutes. i reminded myself afterwards to wash my hands...

kids can be dirty - that's normal! but they sure are fun to play with!!