Corinne at the Guarderia

The other day, I got a lovely email from a former student and volunteer named Corinne from Switzerland. She had been traveling through South America with her boyfriend when she landed in Montanita decided to work on her Spanish skills with us at MSS before continuing on her travels. While studying, she decided to visit the Guadería with me one morning, and fell in love with all the kids. She ended up at the staying there and volunteering for two weeks, getting to know all the children and helping the staff at this super worthwhile organization. Today I got these awesome photos in my inbox.

¡Sonrisas grandes!

The kids at the park with Betsy to get some fresh air.

Is it snack time yet?

Corinne in the toddler room.

Thank you Corinne for all the time you spent with the kids of Manglaralto and for sending me these great pictures. And the señoras and niños all say hi!

If you are interested in volunteering at the Guardería, like Corinne, or with any other of our fantastic non-profit partners, contact me, April, at info@montanitaspanishschool.com. It's not just about traveling and learning Spanish. Get involved! Be a part of something!

Werner at the Primary School

Werner was our last volunteer at the Primary School in Montanita, and he has taken the job head on. Working with hundereds of students from 7 to 16 years old is definately a challenge, but Werner has conquered the hearts of the kids and been teaching English for 5 weeks.

A few weeks ago was the big Defile in Montanita. Kids representing schools from all the nearby
pueblos came together in Montañita for a big parade. Obviously, Werner walked with his class, and we all came out to cheer him on.

Thank you Werner for all your hard work. The kids already miss you! And good luck to Dushka, who just started volunteering this week. We're so proud!

If you are interested in volunteering at the Primary School, like Werner, or with any other of our fantastic non-profit partners, contact me, April, at info@montanitaspanishschool.com. It's not just about traveling and learning Spanish. Get involved, be a part of something!

New Supplies and Volunteers at the Guardería

Yesterday, we were able to present the Guardería with brand new chairs and tables for the children. The old one's were beginning to fall apart, and there weren't enough for all the new kids.

Thank you so much to all the volunteers that have been working so hard to help the children and the families at the Manglaralto Guardería, and thank you all for contributing to the donations that made this gift possible.

Here are a few of them that are volunteering at Guardería now:

Sarah, a volunteer from the States making a collage with the 4 and 5 year olds.

Ann, another volunteer from the States posing with Pamela

Stephanie from Switzerland posing with Leandro.

Vilhelm at the Acuario

Vilhelm had been taking Spanish with us for several weeks before he decided to throw himself into a new project at the Aquarium in Vadivia, a little village 20 minutes from Montañita with the only coastal Aquarium in Ecuador. Since then he has been helping feed the animals, and then in the afternoons he works with the children in the Aquarium's ecological kids'club, playing games and soccer, working on environmental projects and teaching English and yoga.

Vilhelm meets the Ecological Kids Club children

¡Pengüinos!

This crazy pelican wouldn't leave Vilhelm alone while he was trying to feed the sea turtles. I guess he decided to give him some of the fish so that she'd leave him alone

Lobo, the cubby sealion, getting his lunch fom one of the girls in the Ecological Kids Club.

If you are interested in volunteering at Acuario Valdivia like Vilhelm, or any of other great volunteer projects, contact us at the Montañita Spanish School at info@montanitaspanishschool.com or check out our website at montanitaspanishschool.com.

The the guys at the Aquarim are always looking for an extra set of hands, and the kids love when new people come in to work with them and teach them something new. Be creative and make a difference!

Selina at the Guadrería!

Selina, an awesome chica from Switzerland decided to spend a couple weeks during her stay working at the Guardería (day Care Center) in Manglaralto. She was kind enough to share some of her photos of her experience with us so we could post them here.

Playing with the kids in the 2-3 age group classroom.

Taking the kids outside for some air.

Sonrisas :)

Lunchtime!

If you are interested in volunteering at the Guardería like Selina, or any of other great volunteer projects, contact us at the Montañita Spanish School at info@montanitaspanishschool.com or check out our website at montanitaspanishschool.com.

Come make a difference in the day of some super adorable kids, and learn Spanish while you're at it.

Pool Day with Ecological Kids Club

The Ecological Kids Club is a group of awesome and adorable kids from the little village of Valdivia. After school, they go to the Aquarium in Valdivia to learn about the animals, volunteer as tour guides, and work on projects in the community. They have been working hard cleaning the beaches and giving tours to keep up with the tourism "high season." We figured they deserved a day of fun!

Fifteen kids and Javier, the Biologist that runs the Aquarium and the kids program, all came to join us at the Montañita Cabañas to play in the pool and get to know some of the students.

A few hours later, the kids were exhausted... ok, well maybe I was the only one, but keeping up with 15 energetic kids is tough!

As when you put any group of kids in a pool, Chicken Wars are essential. I tended to lose :(

Thanks to Javier and all the kids for an amazing day!