Thanksgiving Chapel

Last Thursday 2nd grade volunteered to lead our school's chapel time. Because we are a multicultural school we try to celebrate Thanksgiving in between the various dates countries celebrate Thanksgiving. We thought that this time in October would be a fitting time to give thanks to God for who He is and all He has provided for us.

Morning theme: "Jesus loves a thankful heart"

Acting out the story when Jesus heals the ten lepers and only the one comes back to give thanks to Jesus.

The second grade students performed 2 skits, sang several songs about giving thanks, shared what they were thankful for, and helped their fellow classmates learn a Bible verse in English and German.

Learning our verse, Psalm 107:1, with hand motions :)

"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever."

Pslam 107:1

"Danket dem Herrn; denn Er ist freundlich , und Seine Güte währet ewig."

Psalm 107,1

Students performing a skit in German reminding us that everything we have comes from the Lord.
Mont Lawn Camp friends: I taught the entire school "Back of the Loaf" and my whole school dropped that beat!!!

 At the end of the time students wrote their thanks to God on a leaf and added it to a school tree displayed in our entry way. Everyday as I walk past the tree I am reminded to give thanks to God. He has blessed me with a wonderful class, opportunities to share His love, and a great place to teach.

Thankful tree covered in leaves giving thanks to God!

Giving thanks to God daily for his abundant blessing and for being our Creator, Provider, Savior, Father, and Friend.

Field Trip!

On Tuesday second grade went on a field trip to Rüttehof, a nearby apple farm. We had so much fun learning about how apple juice is made and seeing where they pick apples! It was a BEAUTIFUL fall day. We walked to the farm through the lovely countryside and brought along some snacks for eating. At the farm we sampled some fresh apple juice and some freshly picked apples. I had so much fun and I know the kids did too!

The best part: the kids learned a lot about apples. I took lots of fun pictures and had a hard time picking just a few! Here are some of my favorites from our morning adventure!!



Posing by the sign for the farm



Walking there on a beautiful fall morning



Love these great girls!



The farmer telling the students about the process (all in German!)



Watching the juice come out of the bottom of the machine



The dried apples come out the back once all the juice is squeezed out. I love his face!!



Sampling the freshly pressed apple juice



Enjoying their juice together with mom!



Eating snack



Checking out the crates of apples in the store room and picking one to keep/eat!



So sweet! I LOVE my students :)



You can only imagine what these boys are like in the classroom... lots of fun!



Second grade class at the farm!



All the bottles of the warm cider. We didn't want to take our hands off of them. All these bottles were nice and warm!



On the way back I thought it would be fun to take a jumping picture! haha!



Walking passed the apple trees on the way back to school.



Walking through the town of Wollbach on the way back to school.

It was so much fun to visit the farm and to make great memories with my students! We certainly learned a lot. I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

 

Fall Days

The days are getting cooler and the leaves are starting to turn yellow here in Germany! Herbst (fall) is kicking in. Here are some fall happenings!

Last week it was time for my students to draw the "October" picture of a tree we are observing in the backyard of the school. I took a few pictures as the students diligently drew the details of the bark, leaves, apples, and branches of the tree. What great observers! They did an awesome job capturing the changes of the tree since September. We will come back again to observe our tree in November and to record our findings!

 

 

 As school and life continues this fall I am still adjusting to life teaching and living here in Germany. I truly appreciate the prayers of so many people for my students and for my own transition to this new culture. I am discovering more and more what I want my routine to look like and what areas in school and home that I want to adjust to keep a balanced and Christ-focused life. I appreciate your prayers throughout the ups and downs of these fall days. Check out Amy's blog post for a great look at what a typical day looks like at our school, CSK. A second grade day looks slight different, but for the most part it's very similar!

This Saturday I took a short trip to a nearby town called Titisee with some friends. It is a picturesque, small town in the Black Forest that was so fun to visit this time of year. Here are some pictures from the neat shops and beuatiful lake that we got to visit! I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful area!


Elizabeth and I took a paddle boat ride out on the lake! It was so fun!



Cuckoo clocks from the Black Forest

Enjoying fall with friends :)
 

These fall days are filled with long school days, scarves and sweaters, fun adventures to nearby places, grading and planning, and also remembering to take time on this Sunday afternoon to look again at the bigger picture: the power of Christ's love. I shared with my students this week a verse that I needed to be reminded of. Philipians 2:14 says "Do everything without arguing or complaining." In the ups and downs of each day it is easy to complain or get bogged down with the many tasks to be done. Instead, we must turn our eyes to Christ who offers the strength and patience needed for each moment.
Paul goes on to write: "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain."
What an awesome reminder of the love and focus Jesus offers to us.

In the cool, beautiful days of fall, His love is enough.

Letters to God

Second grade is learning about prayer. Right now the students are learning the Lord's Prayer in English and in German with my partner teacher Katharina. I am trying to learn it in German right along with them! After talking about prayer with the students a few weeks ago I had them write letters to God where they could give praise, thanks, a request, or make a small confession. It is so cool to see what the students wrote to the Lord. Here are a few! I have blocked out their names for privacy purposes and included a translation and clarification!   


"I love you and I believe in you and thank you for a class and a school and a teacher named Ms. Nicholson" 
(so sweet!)

 


"Thank you for dying on the cross."

 


Translation: "I love God. God is big. God is strong. God has power and God has the whole world. God please help my friends."

 


Translation: "Thank you for my friends and for the world."

 


"Thank you for this world and all the things you put in it. And I'm sorry for all the things I have done wrong."

 


This is a German student writing in English!! Pretty good!
"Thank you for the delicious food and for my family and that I have a bed and pets and that I have friends and a house."

 What a joy to watch these students express their heart to the Lord and to learn that He hears their prayers each and every day. Please continue to pray for these students that they may learn the love God has for them and all that He has in store for their lives!

A Different Kind of Wednesday

Wednesdays typcially mean a full day of school, small group with my freshman girls, and starting to plan lessons and activities for the following week.
Not this week!
Yesterday was The Day of German Unity celebrating the reunification of Germany in 1990. It was so neat to talk with the students at our school on Tuesday about what this day means for them living in Germany and how blessed we are to live in a unified country. It is so neat to work and learn in a bilingual school! The national holiday also meant that we didn't have school on Wednesday and German students also have Thursday and Friday off.
It felt a bit different to have a holiday in the middle of the week, but it was so nice to have some time off to rest and have some fun with friends.

Here's what happens on normal Wednesdays:

Small group girls wrote our focus for the next week on pumpkins: keeping God first!



Love my small group girls!

Lesson planning with Amy (she didn't want to be in the picture!) haha

On this past Wednesday:

A trip to nearby Mulhouse, France to walk around with friends!

Cute little restaurant where we ate some French crepes!

Town square in Mulhouse!

Beautiful Cathedral.

It was so nice to hang out with friends and take a breath in the middle of this week. Even though I missed having small group! I am also so grateful to be living in Germany and for the cultural experiences I am able to have.

Today and Friday we have "English Days" where I just have my English speaking students in class and we can work on extra skills together and do special projects. It is fun to have a small class and do  some neat things together. I'm reminded again and again of what a priveledge it is to serve these students and serve the Lord here in Germany!