Merry Christmas!!

DONE!!!!

First half of the school year is over!!! God is so good! Half day of school today...and it was a fun party day with the kids :) I will miss them, but I'm super ready for Christmas break!!! So thankful that God provided a plane ticket for me to go home. Can't wait to spend time with my family and friends!! Merry Christmas!!! Feliz Navidad!!

Roses are Red :)

Getting handed a rose by one of your little first grade boys: priceless :) I almost cried...it was soo sweet!!! Carlos gave it to me in English class this morning...along with a big hug! Love my kids!!!

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas...

Hungry?!...have a taco :)

After the concert, we all went out to eat...tacos, of course! lol I had tacos with "carne asado" - roast beef. They are normally served with fried onions, fresh lime juice and salsa (which I am still not brave enough to try!) 

Dec. 5th - Christmas Concert

First graders waiting their turn to perform. This is Isai...for the first 3 weeks of school he cried everyday through the entire English class because he wanted his mom. But now is one of my happiest boys...full of hugs and smiles :)

Joselyn, Carlos, Anaid and Ruben :) 

Xitlali (I don't know if I will EVER learn to pronounce her name correctly lol) and Camila. Super cute!!

Dulce, Mina, Xareny and Samanta...some of my 2nd grade girls

LOVE having their pictures taken!! "Teacher, take another one!!" :)

Me with Galia and Karen. 

My crazy 3rd grade boys...

...never a dull moment!!

This is Inaki...full of energy! lol Yesterday he told me, "Teacher, I love homeworks!" haha He also told me that English is his favorite class! YES :) He is very smart and speaks English very well.

Me and my girls! Love them SO much <3

With a few of the other ICLA teachers and the principal. I look so white :( lol

Some Quotes of the Week

• In the middle of giving my 3rd graders their spelling test yesterday...I said the spelling word "rare" and before I had a chance to use the word in a sentence, Alexia calls out from the back of the classroom "Teacher, I am rare!" lol I started laughing SO hard and soon everyone else was too...definitely ruined the "test taking atmosphere." But we all had a good break, and then got back to work!
• Hanna comparing her skin color to mine... "Teacher, por que eres muy blanco (why are you so white)? Tengo frio (are you cold)?" 
• 2nd grade learning the word "love"...I was drawing a picture of a mom and a little girl and a heart on the board with the sentence "I love my mom." And they all start calling out "Teacher, I LOVE YOU!" Aww :)

Monday 10.17.11

After lots of tea and sleep, my voice is feeling much better! Thanks for praying :)
This is the start of my 9th week of teaching! Ahh :) It's going by soo fast! The days are super crazy with teaching and nights are busy with grading, sorting papers and planning lessons for the next day...but all the little hugs definitely make it worth it!! It's SO fun to see my kids learning new things. And they love to sing! One of my favorite parts of the day is singing Bible songs with them..."1, 2, 3 - Jesus Loves Me!" is their all-time favorite. We sing it almost every day lol
The sad news of the week...my camera is officially broken :( So, no pictures for a little while. Temperatures were back in the 90s today. Missing fall a little bit, but enjoying the sunshine :)
Hope you have a GREAT week!

Laryngitis :(

Woke up with NO voice this morning...made for a very interesting day of teaching! lol Please pray that it comes back soon & that God will give me the strength to finish this week strong for Him :) Thankful that "He is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!"

Learning our ABC's :)

Ana Sofía :) 

David working hard!!

This is Rut...she is SO sweet!

Jonathan...this picture pretty much says it all lol

Joshua...i love his big brown eyes! They're cuter when he's smiling tho :)

Elisama and Melva - double trouble!

Ready to work!! Samuel and Saúl

Xareny - she's a hard worker and compliments me on my earrings and hair every day!! lol She's cute!

Ruben and Hillary

More double trouble! Jonathan and Israel

"Meet" some of my 3rd graders!

Alexia got a 100 on her "fruits" test :) yay!!!!

Iñaki - loves 'posing' for pictures ;) He is one of my hardest working students tho...straight A's!!

This is Dannaely! She LOVES to talk and it is so fun to see her start putting words together and speaking in English sentences :) The other day she asked me where I was from. I told her New York. This was her quick reply: "Mexico is pretty. New York no is pretty!"

Elda :) The sentence was "My favorite fruit is ___" She had four! 

Mahivelyne Mireles Fiero Llaziri Judit Zilbestie...yes, that really is her name! Poor girl having to learn to spell all that :/ Four/five letter English spelling words should be no problem lol Her name in my class? May :)

Alfredo and May playing their new favorite game "Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone?"

Alex...another one of my super hard working boys! And always smiling too :)

Noemi...my favorite fruit is apples!

Sebastian jumping in on another picture of Dannaely. He is def the class clown! 

Psalm 121:1-2

The view on my walk to school...daily reminder of where my help comes from!

100 por favor maestra :)

Sifting through the 86 spelling tests that I had to grade this morning, I found this note written on one test "me voy a sacar un 100 por favor maestra sino mi papa si me saco 100 va a compra una mandolina." Translation something like I am going to get a 100 please teacher, because my dad is going to buy me a mandolin if I get a 100!

~My God is All-Wise and Gives Wisdom~

"Trials of various kinds"...we all have them! But how do we respond to them? God has been teaching me this week the importance of giving my trials to Him and seeking His wisdom in how to handle the temptations, worries, fears and frustrations in my life instead of "leaning on my own understanding."

James 3:13 asks, "Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom." Is this my response to trials that God sends into my life? Meekness? Wisdom?! No, unfortunately my response is usually the total opposite! 

This wisdom from above is characterized by being “pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (v.17) It stands in direct contrast to the wisdom from below that is “earthly, unspiritual, demonic…full of jealousy and selfish ambition…disorder and every evil practice.” 

Looking at each of these characteristics individually this week was an eye opening experience for me and God definitely showed me my need for wisdom from above. I'm thankful for His promise that if we lack wisdom (which I do!) we can ask Him and He will "give generously to all without reproach!" We must have a dependent spirit, one that daily runs to Him...the only source of true wisdom. 

His wisdom will enable us to respond correctly to the "trials of various kinds" that He sends into our lives!

Romans 11:33 – “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

Colossians 2:3 – “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Proverbs 8:11 – “For wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.”

Isaiah 28:29 – “This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.”

What is "thin"?!

One of the 3rd grade spelling words for this week is "thin"...so today I was trying to illustrate it on the white board by drawing wide objects and thin objects to show the contrast. I wasn't sure if they were getting the idea of the word...until one girl raised her hand and said, "Teacher, YOU are thin!" Then the students were all like "Ohhh, thin!!" Wasn't planning on using myself as an object lesson, but if that's what works! lol

Picture of the Day

"Teacher, this is you!" lol

My homemade "arroz con leche" :)

Asemblea - 15 de Septiembre

Tomorrow is Mexican Independence day! To celebrate, the students all came to school this morning dressed in colorful, native Mexican attire...they were so cute :) We all went to the gymnasium where the sixth graders performed several skits and songs for the entire student body and their parents. After the 'asemblea', everyone eagerly rushed to the 'comedor' where the mothers were busily serving all kinds of Mexican food...tacos de carne asado, enchiladas rojas, postres, etc. It was delicious! Then most of the children went home with their parents, making the rest of the school day a breeze for the teachers :)

Ruben - always the photogenic one!

Maria...and her bebé :)

3rd and 4th graders all lined up to watch the skits

Hungry first graders going to get some food!!

Joshua - the lil ranchero

Tacos...

Postres...

More tacos!

Love having their pictures taken :)

And then they wanted to take pictures of me!

Hanna brought me a plate of red enchiladas that her mom made. So sweet!!

Only two 3rd graders came to English class today...so we had fun coloring and playing old maid!

Cute <3

Romina and Dulce coloring away!