Kinder Graduation
I survived! I was so nervous about graduation...you just never know what kindergarteners are going to do when you put a group of them on a stage in front of lots of people! But they did great. They remembered to sing, and even occasionally to smile. No one fell, they kept their hands to themselves, and none of them cried. I had one student who did show up - he was supposed to do three parts, but I assigned them to other students and they did them perfectly! It could not have gone more smoothly...thanks I know to the power of prayer!
After we finished our program, which included six songs and three Bible verses, I took them out into the hall and dressed them in their caps and gowns. They looked so adorable...so serious when we brought them back in and gave them their certificates.
There we a couple minor glitches of course...aside from missing a student we were also missing a diploma, which we didn't discover until we called the student's name and realized we had nothing to give him! We also, unfortunately, were missing the cake. There was some miscommunication with the bakery, (they thought we were sending a taxi for it, we thought they would deliver it since it was already paid for) so the cake didn't get to the school until around 2:00pm (the reception was over by 10:00am). Oh well, we put it in the lounge and all the teachers were able to enjoy it.That afternoon (Friday) a group of eleven SAM singles (plus Hannah and Charles, and some girls from Canada) headed up to Samaipata for the weekend. It was freezing cold, so we spent most of the time huddled around the huge concrete monstrosity that posed as a fireplace. (It's the strange, redish-colored sculpture right behind us).
It took about three hours to heat up, but once it did it was hot! We played lots of games, chatted, and generally "chilled" (no pun intended). It was exactly what I needed after the craziness of the last week of school.
And here I am, sitting in my empty classroom. It's almost over. It's good, I'm ready to come home. But sad. All part of leaving I guess. I've started saying my goodbyes...not easy at all. I'm trying not to think of it as forever...after all, I'm pretty sure I'll come back at some point, if only for a visit. Anyway...They happy news is I will be home in ONE WEEK!!
posted by Dana @ 6:30 AM
2 comments
When Kelly was first introducing the students to me she told me a little about each one. She described Carlos Andres (no, not just Carlos, but Carlos Andres) as being very bright with an amazing Spanish vocabulary. She said that he understood most of what she said, but refused to talk to her in English. As I interacted with him I noticed the same thing - he would only respond to me in Spanish, even after I told him that I didn't understand. It went pretty much like that for the entire first semester. Finally, at the beginning of second semester, we told the students that they were no longer allowed to use Spanish in the classroom. If they did, there were dire consequences...their clothespin would be moved!! It took two times of moving his clothespin for Carlos Andres to begin using English. By the end of the first week he was using complete sentences, and after a month he was surpassing students who had used English since the beginning of school. His English usage is hilarious...it's scary to hear some of the phrases he uses, because I know he got them directly from me! One of my favorite examples was just a couple days ago. Kelly came into the room to get him for some one-on-one instruction, and he told her "Okay, give me just one second." (I didn't realize how often I said that until I heard him say it...now I realize I use that phrase all the time). Carlos Andres is absolutely precious with so much potential...he already knows he's going to be a scientist when he grows up. I can see him discovering a cure for the common cold.
Raquel is one of the two kindergarteners whose parents are with SAM. Her dad is our Security Team leader, and her mom keeps busy taking care of her and her two younger sisters, as well as being involved in the Children's Ministry team. Raquel is also extremely bright...she sometimes showed signs of being bored during class (she'd much rather draw elaborate pictures of princesses and flowers than write her letters on her worksheet). Raquel's mom is Bolivian, and her dad is American, so she is one of the fortunate kids to be truly bilingual. In the early days she was always quick to translate another student's question for me. She has also shown some amazing spiritual insight. We were talking at prayer meeting last week, and out of nowhere she said, "God always answers our prayers, but He doesn't talk to us right?" I responded that that was true, though we can read His words in the Bible. She thought for a minute, then said "Sometimes we just have to wait and see what happens to know what His answer is. Like if I wanted a really fancy bike, but I didn't get it, I would know that God was saying 'no' because I don't really need it." Raquel shows me how the faith of a child is so powerful, and why God tells us to be like children. She's already well on her way to becoming her dream...can you guess what it is? Yup...a teacher.
Samuel was one of my most challenging students in the beginning. He refused to participate in class, and would often lay down in the middle of the carpet during our morning circle time or math groups. I couldn't tell if he was tired, bored, or just didn't understand what was going on. It took a long time, but slowly he began to pay attention, and even volunteer answers during class. This picture shows how far he's come...last week he chose playdough for his center, and completely on his own he carefully cut out the numerals and used a cookie cutter to make the corresponding group. We had done something similar in math time, but he definitely took it one step further in applying it! I've seen him grow so much this year...in self-control and motivation as well as in knowledge and skill. His dad is a very high banking official, and I think might have some connection to the government as well. Needless to say Samuel will have every opportunity money can buy. He's made a good start...if only he will keep on persevering.
