Cricket Drills

The boys at Rising Star are have one thing on their mind- CRICKET!

One of our long term volunteers Jeremy Bradford runs cricket drills and practice with the boys after school and a formal practice on Sunday afternoon with the older boys.

Our three Keepers in training each get a turn at wearing the keeping gloves.

Throwing, catching and running drills are combined so that all the kids are active in practice.

Near the end of practice they split into two teams and run a few plays, bowl and batting practice.  

Last drill is always catching.  They stand in a semi-circle, call for the ball and catch 20 balls as a team.  My favorite part of this exercise is when they forget their name while catching the ball.  Its also fun to hear someone like Krishnamoorthy yell his full name before he catches it.  That's a lot to say in a short time.

Practice is concluded with a huddle and team cheer.

I have a feeling the next time the Chennai Marriott team comes to Rising Star they are going to see an even better team.  It will be a fun match to watch.

Say Cheese!

The kids at Rising Star have recently finished their government exams, gone home and returned to school.  First day back I say, "Smile for the Camera!"

This is some of what happens...

Spider-Man was the pose of the day.

Basha was excited to show off our newest little addition to the Rising Star Campus...

His little brother Moosa.

This little guy is going to be needing sponsors so please check the Rising Star Website.

He is becoming a quick favorite here.

A River of Chocolate

Part II of cooking class involved all sweet treats, a little bit of magic and some balloons.

Class started with their safety instructions and demonstrations for their first two items.  We spit them into two groups and when they completed one they sat and then switched to the second.

Round One: 

Banana Pudding Cups with Umbrella

Peanut Butter Smiles

I loved watching their eyes get big when they saw each treat.

Round Two: 

Cookies with Chocolate Frosting and Sprinkles

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting and Sprinkles

Round Three:

Honey Coated Bananas with Granola

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows coated with Chocolate Cereal

Round Four: 

No Bake Cookies

After all the treats were made they had a little class on what to do at a party.  The each took a plate and one of each item.  If there were leftovers at the end they could have seconds.  They were so stuffed the only thing they took away were little  cups of chocolate sauce that they said they were going to share... 

After they got their treats they watched how to make balloon animals.

And they even got to see a few magic tricks!

Thank you again to our volunteers and our kitchen and Housemother helpers.