The Agua Viva education team has completed two days of fun learning activities. Each day featured a Bible story and a health lesson. On Tuesday children at Casa Angelina and Tululche School in Chimaltenango learned how God created the earth perfectly and how man has caused our land and water to become contaminated. On Tuesday Crossing the Red Sea came to life as students in grades K-9 acted out the story complete with costumes, spears for the Egyptian soldiers and streamers for the water. In the kindergarten group “Moses” age 6 raised his staff, the waters parted and the Hebrews walked through on dry land. He lowered his staff and the paper streamers came crashing down on pint sized soldiers who fell to the floor. But then one of the dead soldiers called to Moses to save him and Moses raised his staff again and told the soldier to rise, a 6 year old modification to the classic story. The older group at Casa Angelina acted out the same play while Dave Aber videotaped it. The older students will perform the play at the Celebration on Friday.
Health lessons are an important part of AVI installations. Today we demonstrated how germs are spread when four children put glitter on the hands representing germs and then shake hands with 5 other people, “infecting” them. To emphasize the importance of hand washing in preventing the spread of germs several children rubbed glo germ on their hands liberally. Other students then examined the “germs” shining a black light shines which makes them appear white in color. Students are then asked to wash their hands with soap and water, and again peers look at the germs, which now are mostly gone. We noticed that fingernails are great hiding places for germs. Finally all students practice washing hands while singing Lavo, Lavo Mis Manitos (Wash, Wash, My Hands). We also learned when we need to wash your hands.
Tomorrow we will learn about when it is important to use the purified water and enact a Reader’s Theater about Jesus and the Woman at the Well.
Nancy Allen
