We arrived at Rassandeniya bright and early, greeted along the way by the children from the village who rush out every morning to wave and greet us. The teacher of the pre-school, Miss Felicita, who has made us so welcome and supported all our lessons with the children, was absent for the day. We were in charge, and were looking forward to the challenge of entertaining 12 very lively 4 year olds for the entire morning.The children arrived at 8 O’Clock and we sat with them cross legged on the floor while they they were led in worship by one of the mothers. Rassandeniya is a predominantly Buddhist community and the day begins and ends with Sinhala prayers to worship Lord Buddha. The whole village echoes to the sound of the monks singing from the temple next to the school. We usually arrive at 9 but were on hand early that day for “child control” purposes. The children were well behaved and sat as still as is possible for a 4 year old!The fun began at 9: singing time! We made a circle to the accompaniment of a song we have adopted as the only possible means of luring the children from the still novel outdoor play area. They hear the words “make a circle, make a circle, big and round” (to the tune of “frere jaques”)and come running. Today we had a special treat: an ipod complete with an extensive collection of nursery rhymes and children’s stories. First we played “The wheels on the bus go round and round”, followed closely by the old classic “heads, shoulders, knees and toes”. By this time we had an audience of parents watching through the door of the school while we richly humilliated ourselves by attempting to dance! We tried to do the “oke koke” but the children have now decided that instead of rushing towards each other during the chorus, they should launch themselves onto the floor instead. The game inevitably ended in tears.One of the children is a little girl called Ramesha who never spoke or joined in with the games before we came but has really started to respond to our games. It’s so rewarding to see her laughing and playing and interacting with the other children, when before she would have sat in a corner on her own. The Project has been completely worth all our effort, just for the difference we have seen in that little girl.Play time was exhausting as ever as we pushed the children on swings, carried them about, swung them round and chased them for an hour or so. We taught them how to tell the time in English by playing “What’s the time Mr. Wolf”. The playground is quite small surrounded partially by a fence which is yet to be completed. The children find it hilarious to run through the gaping hole and into the road. We’re hoping to complete the building work for the school during our time here by providing a more adequate fence and a wall next to the river which runs behind the school and is presently a little bit worrying as the children could easily fall in. At 10.15 a lady from the village brought food for the children and supervised them while we were collected by the family who were looking after us for the day. On this occasion it was a young lady called Nimesha who is an absolutely amazing dancer and has been spending a lot of time teaching us a traditional Sri Lankan dance routine ready for the cultural show at the end of our stay. We were welcomed into their home with open arms and showered with hugs and affection. The mother of the family spoke very little English but was so warm and friendly. She’s actually adopted us as daughters! I cannot emphasize enough how welcoming the people in the village have been. The hospitality we have received has been so wonderful and every day in Rassandeniya has been an absolute pleasure. I hope they realise how truly greatful we are.Tea break over we taught an art lesson at the pre school and more songs before returning an hour later for lunch with the family. They made us a feast! In fact, I can say for certain that the best food we have eaten in Sri Lanka has been made by the families in Rassandeniya! They’re also sympathetic to our complete inability to eat anything spicy. After lunch Nimesha played some music and danced for us before dragging us onto the floor to dance with her. She was so elegant and graceful. We on the other hand were not, but we’re more than happy to be a source of entertainment for half the village who turned up to watch (and laugh at) us. After lunch we usually return to run an afterschool club for older children but today was an exception as the whole village were heading off to a neighbouring town, Dondra, to watch the Parahera; a street procession complete with dancers and elephants to celebrate the first day of a week long festival leading up to the Poya day, which is the day of the full moon. We went along with our family for the day, driven in a tuk tuk by Miss Felicita’s husband (only designed for 3 people however we managed to fit six inside). The festival was unlike anything we have ever seen with parades of dancers and colourful costumes. Definitely a day to remember!