Meet Owen

Change is not always easy.  Especially if you are a nine year old boy and you leave everything you’ve ever known to come to a new place, with new people.  Although New Day was excited to welcome a new child, Owen was timid and quiet as he took in his new home.  

The name Owen means strong, noble warrior and well-born.  We have seen this in Owen since he arrived at New Day.  He loves being around others and playing outside.  

Each day Owen goes straight to the animals when he is outside. He likes to pet and feed the bunnies and goats and is very fond of New Day’s dog, Tom.   He will look all around the backyard, calling for Tom.  

Recently, on a nice cool morning, we brought the bubbles out.  He was fascinated with them.  He tried out the many different bubble wands and different ways of blowing them.  He giggled each time he blew several bubbles at once.  He even found that he could let the wind blow bubbles.  

Owen’s laughter can be heard throughout the back yard when he is jumping on the trampoline or being pushed high in the swing.  

His sweet and caring personality shows outside as he waits patiently for the younger children to finish riding the scooters and bikes before he has a turn. 

Owen attends the Backyard school each day. He did not know any English words before coming to New Day, but is learning to count and already knows many of the colors as well as many signs.  Owen participates in all the songs and activities, even if he is unsure of the words and actions.  After he counts in English, he wants me to count in Chinese.  He just gives a smile and shakes his head when I say a number wrong.  

During free play Owen often chooses to build with Legos.  At first he would only stack the Legos, but once he was shown the pictures of what he could make, he follows the diagrams intently to build new things.  The first thing he built was a castle with a slide.  He was so proud of himself when he completed it.  He is determined to finish once he starts and will build and re-build to make sure it looks just right.  

Now that Owen has adjusted to his new home, he is quick to greet everyone with his big smile, a wave and even a high-five. We are excited to continue to see his personality shine!  

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This post was written by our volunteer backyard school teacher, Kim