Updates from foster care

We just received the last few months of updates from New Day:


June 2007

On Children’s Day (June 1st), Leah’s foster mom took her to a local park to play. Leah enjoyed playing with her ball and walking along the river. Her mom tries to take her for walks every day. Her foster family is really working with Leah on her speech and vocabulary. She is learning more and more two syllable words now. Her foster mom says that Leah is a quick learner and is making so much progress!


July 2007

In June, Leah's foster family took her to the zoo. Leah, who is 4 years old, hasn't been to the zoo often, so she forgot a lot of the animal names. When the family reached the monkey cage, her foster mom gave her some food to feed the monkeys and taught her to say, "Monkey." Leah was a little scared to feed the animals, but once she tried it she thought it was great fun! Leah's family bought her a fun animal mask at the gift shop, and she got to play a game called "Hit the Mouse." Leah had a wonderful outing, and she was so happy at the zoo. Her family loved having the chance to give her a new experience - they love her very much!


Aug 2007

This month Leah has been working especially hard to learn new words. Even though her speech isn’t the clearest, she really tries very hard. She has made quite a bit of progress in the past few months. She can now say “ape” because she received a toy ape from one of her sponsors. She has also learned to say “camel”, “swan”, “hippo”, and “deer” (all in Chinese, of course.) Leah also likes to draw these animals on the whiteboard in her house. She is also learning to write numbers now. Her foster family gives her a lot of encouragement in all of her learning.


Sept 2007

Leah is doing very well these days. Her foster mom is teaching her how to wash her hair and what to do when she takes a bath. Leah really enjoys having her hair washed – she says it’s so much fun and even tickles a bit. She washes her hair with children’s shampoo and knows how to put her head under the faucet to rinse her hair. She then quickly grabs her towel to dry her hair. Leah’s foster mom says she is a very bright girl who has brought a lot of joy to their home.


Oct 2007

This report was written by Leah’s foster parents:

Leah can now sing the song “Little Yan Zi” and other children’s songs. She has a little trouble with songs with six words in a line, but she is getting better everyday. Leah is also learning how to brush her teeth. To keep Leah from accidentally swallowing toothpaste, we let her use salt water to brush her teeth. We also only let her brush every other day. At this age, she learns fast but also forgets fast, but she’ll get it soon! She is so cute; she is always so eager and excited to learn.


Nov 2007

Leah’s Foster Mother wrote this report.
Leah is 4 years and 7 months old.

Leah has been studying a new song, but we are teaching her slowly, only three or four words at a time so that she can remember it easily. It starts with the words, “Every year spring comes…” She can’t quite sing the whole song yet, but she is working hard. She loves to sing and has a beautiful voice. We are slowly starting to enter the winter season. She is learning what clothes are appropriate for winter, and which clothes are not appropriate to wear for this season. Leah also has a new hobby of watching the 6:00 p.m. animal show on TV. She is so cute!