However once again, those are precisely my sentiments. Somehow November has come and gone before I could blink. After returning from a wonderful October break, so many things have happened in Second Grade. For your sake, I will try to simply list them with FEW details because I could probably write enough that your backside would go numb sitting and reading! But just in case, you may want to get comfy :)
Zoo Field Trip!
After finishing up our unit on Habitats, we took our first field trip to the Chiang Mai Zoo and Aquarium to "see animals in their (not so) natural habitats." Unlike zoos in America, many exhibits had low walls and the students could walk right up and feed all the animals. They even feed a baby jaguar! (through a chain-link fence using a long pole… no second graders were harmed in the feeding of this animal). It was a great bonding experience for Second Graders as a whole unit and I believe it was a great learning experience as well.
Baking Week!
Measuring and reading recipes is a topic in the Second Grade Math Curriculum so we had the fun (and insane) idea to turn it into a week long unit study. We planned a recipe for each day for the students to read, make/bake/cook, and write about. The students loved it, were so excited and engaged that they were willing to struggle through reading the complicated vocabulary of recipes and work through figuring out which measuring cup or spoon to use (real life application to learning fractions!). It wasn't always easy, but they were so proud of all the things they made throughout the week! I wish I had pictures of this week however Kosharah and I were too busy helping read, measure, pour, etc. to take any.
Spiritual Emphasis Week!
This was the same week as baking week. It basically meant we went to chapel every morning that week instead of the usual every other Tuesday morning. The students learned about The Good Shepherd and what it means to follow Him. The stage was decorated with stuffed animal sheep, one of which each class got to take one "home" at the end of the week. After much deliberation, my students voted to name ours Watergirl. If you have any explanation as to where this name came from, please let me know! haha They are a funny bunch. On a more serious note, it was a wonderful reminder to me to be praying for the hearts of my little people. I can teach them reading, writing, math, etc. but above all, I pray that I will be a good example of Christ-like living in their lives, making wise decisions especially when it comes to my dealings with them and loving them as Christ loves them. They are to the point now where they begin making the choice to make their faith their own. I desire that for each of my students. Please join with me in praying in the battle for their hearts.
ICEC and Thanksgiving!
During Thanksgiving week, all GIS teachers had the opportunity to attend the International Christian Educators Conference, East Asia Region. About 600 Teachers from Christian schools gathered at a local hotel/conference center to attend professional development workshops. There were several workshops I attended that were a great inspiration to my teaching, some of which I have begun to implement into my classroom. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were full of workshops, meetings, and getting to know other teachers who teach oversees in Asia. Thursday night some friends and I went out for Thanksgiving, and ate sushi! Then after the conference was over on Saturday, I had another Thanksgiving with my family at home. Then on Sunday, I had another Thanksgiving with Kosharah's family, with Turkey even! It was great cooking all afternoon and enjoying the company of friends who have become like family to me.
Loy Kratong!
If you have seen the movie Tangled, then you can picture the floating lantern scene. Well, that was based off the Thai Buddhist Holiday Loy Kratong! For the last month, but particularly this last week, the sky has been filled with floating lanterns. Its beautiful to see and fun to participate in! As a family, we let off 10 lanterns on Wednesday night, and many of my friends attended the ceremonies where thousands of lanterns are let off all at once. The purpose of this is to atone for sins and make merit. In a way, it is a sad day for many Buddhists because they know in their hearts they can never make enough merit to earn their way into their heaven. Please pray for the Thai people as they are coming off this holiday, potentially discouraged, and that God would use His people here to speak to their hurting hearts.
So that wasn't exactly short. Okay ridiculously long is more like it. I hope you are all doing well, and that your Thanksgiving celebrations were full of thankfulness and love. I am thankful for you, your prayers and financial support! Please pray for me as I head into the Christmas season. I have been VERY homesick and exhausted this last month. Some days it feels like I'm drowning in a sea of unfamiliar things and can't get my head above water. I will potentially begin transition counseling soon, so please pray that God pairs me up with someone who I will be able to trust pretty quickly and open up to. I'm looking forward to a few weeks off at Christmas and my friend Veronica coming for a whole month!
I would love to hear from you and how you are doing! Praying for you! If you still haven't received a post card from me, its coming!! I've been sending them out in batches of 10-15 and it takes 10-14+ days to get there! Love to you all!!