I love reading my students' writing and going through the process with them of getting their ideas on to paper. It can be challenging for young children to convey their thoughts in writing and even more challenging for English Language Learners to express their thoughts clearly and concisely. So it is quite exciting when they produce not only their own story but that they have done it with little coaching or help from the teacher.
People ask where their ideas come from and how much I help them. The surprising thing is that they come up with these ideas all on their own. I do help with grammatical errors and give direction for spelling but the stories and ideas are all theirs. Can't help but be a little proud of them considering when they started in September they had very little conversational English.
Exciting news... I am an Aunt! On January 17, Benjamin David entered the world weighing 8 pounds one ounce. News spread quickly as my parents sent me notes on Skype and my brother sent out facebook and text messages.
As I read the emails from my parents and saw the snapshots from my brother of the new addition to our family I began to ponder how missionaries handled being away from family before the invention of the internet, face-time and Skype. At one time overseas missionaries said goodbye to their families with a slim chance of being able to see them again any time soon. So I count myself blessed.
I really enjoy how much the internet seemingly makes family and friends closer; yet, there is this slight sadness inside of me to know how far away they are actually. This really hasn't hit hard until now that there is a small bundle that I long to hold and just can't. Being able to instantly see my family and friends with the click of a few buttons is comforting, however, it can also be heartbreaking. SO close and yet SO far away.
Through all this I can relate to my students who are also far away from their extended family. Many don't get to see their grandparents for years at a time. Relationships are built and maintained through electronic devices. In many ways our staff and students become our extended family. We become the wacky Aunts and Uncles for our staff kids. The adopted grandparents and brothers and sisters. It gives me a new perspective on what it means to be a part of a bigger family, God's family. Though I do miss my family and friends I am comforted in knowing that this is the calling God has brought me to do: to share the love of God and to extend the invitation to be a part of God's ever-growing family.
This year we decided to avoid the crowds and enjoy the Prague fireworks display from a safe distance and went to a friend's place located on the 10th floor of an apartment building outside the city centre.
Since fireworks are available to anyone in your local grocery store there is no limit to when and where you will see fireworks in Prague, especially on Silvestr (New Year's Eve).
The booming can begin even before the sun has a chance to go down and will continue throughout the night. The most spectacular sight being just after midnight as the city looks like it is on fire!
Looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2014.
Many ask how I spend my Christmas so here is what a Prague Christmas for me is like.
First there are the last few weeks of school leading up to Christmas Holidays.
We celebrated Hanukkah ~ By making latkes
Baked and decorated cookies for the Christmas concert.
Practised and practised and practised for the upcoming Christmas concert.
December 10: Celebrating our 10 years of being a school
On the 10th of every month everyone in school dresses nice to commemorate our 10th year as a school.
December 14: CISP Christmas Concert
We took on the challenge this year of involving the entire school in this year's Christmas Program. In years past there would be a few songs from the elementary, perhaps a skit by the drama club and more songs from the High school choir. This year us ladies in the elementary decided we wanted simple but also wanted to involve the whole school. Any program involving the entire school is far from being simple but it was well done. Grades 1-3 once again took on the challenge of reciting Luke 2: 1-18. I was concerned about the task being too much for this group since the majority of them are non-native English speakers. Yet my shock and amazement came from the least likely of sources. I have one girl in my class who rarely speaks in full sentences and is very shy about talking in general. One day while lining up to go home, I hear from the doorway Luke 2 being proclaimed clearly and loudly from this little girl with no prompting or encouragement. “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree…” all the way to verse 18. This group has surpassed all my expectations!
We did the passage in two sections so I was able to record the first part of Luke 2:1-7
Our program was a youtube Christmas where our grade 9's and 10's were discussing what was the meaning of Christmas while decorating a Christmas tree.
True to today's day and age when you have a question the first place many turn is to Google! So the kids Googled the meaning of Christmas and the result was our Christmas program! It is a little hard to explain how it all came together but in the end each piece found its place and everyone did a great job playing their part. To the left is the intro video that set the stage for our program.
December 19: Last day of school - Pyjama Day!
We had a fun day of wearing our PJs to school, playing games, drinking hot chocolate and watching the Polar Express.
December 21 ~ Staff Christmas party
- see previous post about White Elephant Gifts :)
December 22 ~ Decorate the Christmas Tree
Since our tree was a prop in the Christmas program we weren't able to set it up in our home until after the concert and finding the time to do so didn't come until Christmas break! There were plans to decorate a real baby fir tree that we had gotten from IKEA in October. We had named him Charlie and were excited to have him for Christmas. Alas in late November he was attacked by an army of aphids and there was no saving little Charlie. So a fake tree it had to be.
December 23 - Wandering the city
I am saddened by our lack of snow this Christmas. We do get snow in the Czech Republic but I have yet to experience having any on Christmas day!
December 24 - Christmas Eve a night of Great Food & Carp Stories
We were invited for a lovely Christmas dinner where our friend Jodi went above and beyond to make it special for us. Unable to find Christmas stockings she made us paper socks and filled gift bags with small treats. She slaved in the kitchen to make foods that made us at home. The wonderful meal was followed by fun fellowship and Christmas Carol singing.
Though we did not have the traditional Czech dish of carp, we did get to explore Jodi's collection of books containing two stories about the tradition of eating Christmas Carp. Becca read Carl the Christmas Carp for us and I had to record it. It's long but worth a listen as it shares some very Czech traditions.
Up until December 24th you can find fish barrels on the street corners crammed full of carp! The fish monger will kill it there for you, or you can take it home in your bucket or bag and have it live in the bathtub until you are ready to cook it for dinner.
December 25 ~ A Happy Orphaned Christmas
This year my flatmates were all here for Christmas and we decided to invite anyone else who did not have family or friends around to celebrate Christmas with. We called it our orphaned Christmas. After going to a Christmas church service we had Brunch and opened stockings. Though we had no stockings we improvised with socks from the local Kaufland. I introduced my friends to the joys of Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe and my favourite story of Dave and the turkey. Afterwards we lounged about sharing Christmas traditions and life stories.
Stockings under the tree
The Lord of the Harvest
One of the most encouraging stories shared was from one of our friends who had left the Mormon faith and had become a Christian during my first year here. She shared about one of our CISP families who had left to return to the States after my first year. They were a Mormon family living in the Czech Republic as expatriates. They had been in our school for a couple of years and the seeds of the gospel were being planted in the hearts of their children. The stories of the Bible the children brought home with them caused their parents to question their beliefs in the Mormon Faith. After a few years of seeking and questioning they recently have decided to leave the Mormon church and continue seeking the God of the Bible.
Stories like this one remind me of how growth of the little seeds we plant continue even when the children leave our school. Our students become missionaries to their parents and their families. Though we may never see the fruit of our work, the seeds continue to grow and the Harvest will come.
