The kids and I have been meeting weekly for the past three Sundays after mass, assigning characters. Today was our first act-through with everyone in their assigned places. The children were absolutely great. I could feel the positive self-esteem vibrating in the air. Having been raised in a religious environment, the kids are familiar with the story of Mary and Joseph’s trek to Bethlehem for the birth of Baby Jesus. I gathered them together to experiment with the characters’ dialogue and create a script. To my surprise, the youngsters created their own dialogue spontaneously. We had so much fun. The kids are so funny. They had me laughing out loud. Especially when 9-year-old Maryuri, substituting for our absent Mary actress, appeared with a soccer ball under her shirt feigning Mary’s pregnancy with Baby Jesus. Then she sat on 11-year-old Milthon’s back (our donkey) as they made their way to Bethlehem 🙂