The Connection

These are my beautiful little 4th graders when school starts at 7:30 am:

And this is what they look like from 7:31am to the end of the school day:

I love them!

Highlights of the week:

• Starting dance practice for the big Independence Day celebration. Prepare yourself for hilarious pictures in about a month. Students and teachers alike will be decked out in large dresses, sombreros, and fans. We will dance. Oh, we will dance. In front of the whole school and their parents. In preparation, the students practice during the school day and teachers practice after school. 

• A large bright green iguana was hanging around school this week. One of the guards caught it and let all the students pet it. 

• More trips to the principal's office!

Today was picture day and the boys begged me to let them get their Justin Bieber hair ready for pictures.

My favorite thing so far about teaching is getting my students excited about reading. I told them on the first day of school how much I love reading and about my favorite authors and books. At first most of them seemed weary about all the reading I told them we would be doing. Then I started to do read alouds from my favorite kids' books... now those books are a connection between us. When we are coming up with topics to write about, or when we are comparing things or need examples, the students are always choosing characters or books that we have read. Because my students are from all over and because my background is so different from most of theirs, finding things that we all have in common is really important. I love that the books and characters can be that connector for me and my students. Thank you, Scaredy Squirrel!

Some of the students that at the beginning of the year told me they were not looking forward to reading are some of the students that rush up to me during silent reading time to tell me that they finished another book. As Scaredy Squirrel would say: "Don't be afraid to read!"
________________

Thank you for the continued prayers and emails and for reading about my crazy new life! Love you all!
xoxoxoxo

Two Things

Two VERY exciting things happened this week:
1) Donuts
2) A warm shower

In other news, week two of school is over. This week involved parent meetings, trips to the principal's office, and some meltdowns (from the students, not me). Now you understand why I listed donuts above. Please be praying for me this week as I work with my students.

I really wanted to show you all a picture of my students, but I don't have a good one yet. Next week!

Today the NCA leadership took us on a historical tour of Nicaragua.

The old cathedral in Nicaragua. Used to be in the busy downtown area. Destroyed in the earthquake of 1972, it is now condemned after restoration attempts. Managua used to be known as the Golden City of Central America. It enjoyed years of prosperity and business with many countries. That one earthquake changed the city and it has still not recovered. At school we practice earthquake drills, instead of fire drills, tornado drills, and lock down drills. If there is even a small tremor during the day, parents call worried to the school, because they have seen the destruction of the '72 earthquake.

Me, Erin, and Sarah at the top of Lake Tiscapa. I went ziplining over that many years ago... now you couldn't pay me to do it...

To the left is the elementary principal and her husband. In the back right you can see the director of the school.

 

This is the city of Granada, the oldest colonized city in all the Americas.

 

 

We took a boat tour of some islands on Lake Nicaragua. The islands were formed when a volcano erupted many years ago. Another cool fact: Lake Nicaragua is the only fresh water lake to have sharks.

 

 

 

A monkey on one of the islands. A vet owns the islands and takes care of the four spiders monkeys living there.

All the islands are private and are owned by retired North Americans or millionaire Nicaraguans.

Time for me to head to bed.
xoxoxo

In Session

School is in session and I have lived to tell about it. I know a lot of you have been praying for me - thank you!

The first couple of days are always a little crazy as students are trying to figure everything out and remember how to use their brains for seven hours. The summer slide has been revealed, not to mention the English slide for many of my Spanish speaking students. I received sixteen blank stares during our first discussion on place value (a review concept). More blank stares about the phrase "quiet in line". Now that it is almost the end of the week, my students are waking up and a routine is being established.

Many of you have been asking about the background of my students. The majority are Nicaraguans. One is from Australia, three are from the States, and one is from Mexico. Most of them have been in Nicaragua a long time and are near bilingual. Some need extra help with English, others with Spanish.

_____

Last Sunday we went to Pochomil Beach for our church service. We sat under a hut thing and had communion and worship. Afterwards we swam and my roommate and I rode some ponies! Check us out!

xoxoxoxo

!!!

Open House = OVER

I met my students (and their parents)! My classroom is ready! I am trying to think of what to tell you, but all I can focus on is how very hungry I am... Instead I will post my promised pictures.

A Monstrous Welcome to the 4th Grade!







My favorite part of the classroom - the library!
After many hours it is now organized by genres

 All ready for Open House

 

Erin (3rd grade), me, and Sarah (5th grade)

I hope you enjoyed my classroom tour. Please note that there will be curtains in the near future that will make the room a more homey looking. It is still a little white but with all the windows it is hard to decorate more! Decorating is quite the challenge as the humidty and dirt eat everything. Tape doesn't stick well to the walls. Everytime I work with contact paper or tape you can always see a layer of dirt and a fingerprint on it, no matter how many times I wash my hands. A couple times I have come into my room in the morning and have seen that things fell off the wall in the middle of the night. Then you have to figure out another way to hang it up or add plenty more tape.

Bring on the first day of school!

xoxoxoxo

Classroom Pictures

Many of you have been asking for pictures of my classroom. I have a couple of finishing touches to do in the morning, and then I will snap a bunch of pics and post them here tomorrow night! I love walking into my classroom and having it feel like my classroom.

Friday night is Open House. All of the parents and students attend. After staff introductions and a welcome time in the chapel, all my 4th grade students and parents come back to my room where I entertain them for 45 minutes. Basically this means I give a presentation of what the school year holds, topics covered in the curriculum, etc. Am I nervous? Yes. Am I excited? Yes. Am I ready? Almost!

I'll update you tomorrow night!

xoxoxoxo