Thanksgiving Fest

"I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High."

Psalm 7:17

Thanksgiving Fest happens at CSK every year in between German, Canadian, and American thanksgiving. It's a fun morning at our school where the parents put on fun thanksgiving activities for the students to participate in. 

Last year I was sick and missed this day at school and so it was great to be able to enjoy this day with the students. We had so many wonderful parent volunteers who organized the entire program. 

We started our day with a whole school lesson on the American thanksgiving story as told so beautifully by Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Sally, etc. After the historical film by the Peanuts gang, the students were divided up into different groups to participate in the morning's events!

I compiled some of my favorite pictures from the day to capture a bit of what the day was like!

The kids are ready in their groups for the morning activities!

A fun relay game outside where the kids had to knock over the standing bottles. Thankful for great weather!

Students playing games inside.

Making cute, paper pumpkins

Her pumpkin looked great!

Decorating turkey cookies!

CB and a student color place mats before the meal is served.
(The place mats were a brilliant idea to keep the kids occupied before lunch!!)

Looking forward to trying some traditional American Thanksgiving food!

Sweet friends :)

The boys with their Thanksgiving lunch.

Special friends. 

One of the fun parts of the day was when multiple parents who were organizing activities or leading groups came up to me during the morning and said, "I don't know how you do this every day!" Of course I love my job, but it was great for the parents to get a glimpse into the busy life of a teacher and managing all our students! I told the parents that I am so thankful for all my students, but I certainly am tired at the end of every day!
   

Here are some of the many things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving:

• Students who make me laugh and smile
• Wonderful co-workers
• New books in the library
• The first snow!
• My roommate, Amy
• FaceTime and Skype with friends and family in America
• Hot chocolate and cookies

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Martinstag

November 11th is a special day in most parts of the world. While many countries are celebrating Veteran's Day or Remembrance Day, here in Germany people are celebrating St. Martin's Day or Martinstag. 

St. Martin's Day is a day to remember St. Martin, a famous European Saint who became a monk and gave to the poor. He is known for giving his cloak to a beggar and saving him from the cold of night. That puts it quite simply, but is the story in summary!

St. Martin's Day continues to be celebrated in different ways. I got a taste of how it is celebrated in this part of Germany. This year was my first time participating in a lantern parade with parents and students from our community. In school this fall we made special lanterns with our students. Many of the students have these special handmade lanterns from Kindergarten as well and now have several lanterns they can use every year! 

We met in front of CSK where students and families sing traditional "St. Martin" songs before beginning the parade through the village. Then we began the parade!

I never finished my own lantern in our class and so a student lent me one of hers so that I could carry a lantern as well!

Then, throughout the parade we stopped at different points to sing many St. Martin's Day songs. We had practiced some in school and so I was familiar with many of the songs. Luckily, there were word sheets as well to help!

It was so fun to walk with many of my students and their families throughout the night. Here are some of my fun second grade girls with their handmade lanterns!

After the parade it was back to the front of the school for hot German sausage in rolls and warm punch. We tried to warm our hands in our lanterns and enjoyed time with students and teachers outside of school. 

It's always fun to learn new traditions and to share special memories with great kids and their families!

Einkehrtage- "Retreat"

Two weekends ago I had the chance to go on a retreat with the German teachers from our partner German school. As many of you know the school I work at Christian School Kandern (CSK) is a joint school program from Black Forest Academy and Freie Evangelische Schule (FES), a German school in the nearby town of Lörrach. The English speaking and German speaking schools have combined to make our lovely, bilingual school of CSK. 

The German school (FES) invited the English teachers of our school to come along on their annual retreat into the beauty of the Black Forest for a weekend of relaxation, conversation, and professional development. 

I didn't know what to expect going on the retreat, but was excited for a chance to meet new people and get to know the mission and vision of FES during the weekend. The theme of the weekend was "What does it mean to be called a Christian School?" The speakers and small group discussions times gave us opportunities to discuss ways in which we can be integrating faith into our school and into our classrooms in a way that is both authentic and meaningful. 

What is really neat is that this is a theme that BFA has been discussing in professional development times as well this fall and clearly is a message that is on the hearts of both schools. In addition, integrating faith into the classroom is a challenge that has been set before the teachers of these schools as they seek to show Christian character both inside and outside of the classroom. 

This weekend also gave me an inside to see the mission of FES. The school not only offers a quality education to students, but also reaches out to many students and their families in the area. They value the importance of serving their students and following the example of Christ as they teach and serve. The school reaches 100s of students in the nearby area at all grade levels and in all tracks of the German school system. This weekend also provided the opportunity for us "newcomers" to hear amazing stories of God's faithfulness as students and families have come to know God's love through the work of this school. 

It was so special to feel a part of this wonderful community and to understand even more fully the role that we (the teachers at CSK) have in their mission as well. Above is a picture of the many wonderful teachers at FES that was taken at the retreat. (I'm somewhere in the middle in the third/second row!)

On Friday evening there was a "Variety Show/ Talent Show" that the teachers look forward to each year. This year the theme was "The Wild West" and so the teachers of CSK decide to prepare a little something to show the rest of the FES teachers what our school is all about. We had so much fun coming up with a skit that included some of the unique attributes of our school: speaking two languages, cultural differences between Germany and America, some funny "kid" quotes, and of course all in a western setting! 
I was able to borrow some costumes from the BFA costume closet which added to the old saloon atmosphere. At the end of our skit we danced the "Cotton-Eyed Joe" and had a blast teaching everyone to dance along. :)

Not only was the retreat a wonderful time to enjoy the beauty of God's creation, continue to reflect upon my roll as a Christian teacher, and to be able to dress up in some Western gear, but it also was a great chance to connect with new and old German friends. It was great language practice too as the entire weekend was in German of course! I was so grateful for the chance to go on a hike, worship together, and to just "get away". It is such a blessing to work and serve with such wonderful people and to be connected with a school that truly values sharing Christ's love in such a real way. 

Here are the first, second, and third grade German and English teaching teams from our school. We stopped for a photo on the way down the mountain!

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus"

Philippians 2:1-5

Happy Fall

Fall is such a wonderful season. 

While I love all the seasons, how they are each so unique and different, there is something special about fall that I appreciate more and more each year. Perhaps it is watching the trees slowly change from greens to brilliant yellows and oranges. Maybe it's the seasonal foods like fresh apples and pumpkins straight from the field. Or perhaps what makes fall so special is the many traditions that occur in different places that communities and individuals look forward to each year! 
Experiencing fall here in Germany has been so much fun. There are many things about fall in Germany that are very similar to coming from a Pennsylvania fall. The colors of the trees, different festivals, produce from local farms are definitely pretty similar. But, every place has unique seasonal activities that are fun to be a part of. 
Here are some pictures that document some of my fun fall weekend adventures!

Every fall, the town of Kandern where I live has a wonderful pottery festival where potters from the area sell their beautiful work in our town center. 

 I really enjoy walking around and looking at all the different styles and pieces from the various artists. Too bad it's too expensive to buy much! I like it all!

Here is the pretty creek that runs by my house where now the leaves are starting to change color. Here they are still pretty green. 

 On October 3rd, Germany celebrates Reunification Day and not only is it a chance to celebrate a unified Germany, but it also is a day off from school! On that Thursday I had the chance to travel a little over an hour away to the cute French town of Colmar where we walked around and enjoyed a beautiful fall day!

 Another fun festival in the area is in the village of Holzen. Here we had some of the favorite pumpkin soup and fresh apple cider! It's so good! Last night Amy and I made our own pumpkin soup from scratch and it was SO GOOD!

They were pressing the apples right there for the apple juice. It was some of the best I've ever had!

A new fall tradition I experienced this year is watching the cows come home! Every fall, after spending the summer up in the mountains, it's time for the cows to come back down to different pastures. The lead cows wear wreaths on their heads and the herdsman keep them all together as they walk in a parade-like formation down the mountain. In German it's called, "Viehscheid".  It was lots of fun to be part of this traditional celebration in the beautiful setting of the Black Forest!

 One of the lead cows with the wreath on his head. Afterwards, the wreaths are auctioned off to eager buyers!

A look at the hillside in Münstertal

 After the parade of the cows, there is a big celebration complete with a traditional band and delicious German food!

There are lots of fun things to do for fall. I enjoy bringing some traditional fall activities into the classroom as well as we learn about leaves, apples, and the seasons. This Thursday our class is going to go to the local apple orchard to learn some more about pressing and harvesting apples. It should be a blast!

One thing that I appreciate is that every year the Lord brings each season, but with new experiences, new lessons to be learned, and new people to share life with. I'm so glad that our seasons of life don't continue endlessly. Instead, God faithfully brings us through different seasons of life so that we continue to learn from His loving and guiding hand. While some seasons of life may be sweeter than others, each offers the goodness of walking with the Lord through each day. 

May you have a blessed and beautiful fall wherever He leads you!

School Update!

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 

1 Thess. 5:18

It has been a busy start to the school year! But, there is much to give thanks for. It is so good to be back and to be starting my second year teaching second grade. I am so thankful to be able to pull on my experiences from last year and to start the year knowing more about how our unique school functions and how I want my classroom to run. 

I am also very glad to be working with my German partner teacher again this year! It is such a joy to work together every day and we are such a  team. Starting year two together makes such a difference as we know so much more about how we want our classroom to run! We were thrilled to be able to start the year with clear goals and expectations for our students. This is us together on the first day of school. Below is a photo of our classroom the week before school. It's nice and clean and ready for students! 

The first day of school is quite a whirlwind as we hold a special celebration for our incoming first graders. The celebration, called Einschulungsfest, is a big ceremony for the first grade class as they start school. Grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, and parents gather to send their child off for their first day of school and to present them with a special cone filled with school supplies and candies. The second graders always perform a skit for the new students and this year our whole school sang songs to welcome the new students. Here is a picture of the many people gathered in the front lot of our school for the ceremony! 

This year I have 22 students in my class. 17 of these students are German students coming from the surrounding community. 5 of my students are English students several who have parents working for BFA or international mission organizations centered here in Kandern, Germany. I taught this group of students Social Studies last year and was pleased to see how they grew up this summer! They are so much fun to teach with a love of learning, lots of creativity, and full of smiles and great stories. There is never a dull moment in my classroom. 
Naturally, having 17 German speakers in my class this year means that there is a lot of speaking and hearing German in our classroom. It has been really cool this September to see how much German I have learned throughout this last year and to be able to help more with the translating in our classroom. It helps a lot! The kids really do teach me a lot and it is amazing to see how fast they learn English too! Their young minds can soak up so much language and so quickly!

This year I have some unique additions to my teaching schedule. I am helping to teach first and second grade library this year which is so much fun. I love helping them pick just the right books. I also am assisting with our elementary chapel band and have been enjoying helping the students prepare to lead worship for the entire elementary school and to come up with easy motions to go with the songs. 

Two weeks ago it was the second grade class' turn to lead chapel. Katharina and I developed a chapel all about giving thanks for the blessings God has given us. Our students illustrated the verses to an old German hymn and read the lines of the verses to the school. We sang songs of thanks and the first grade class all shared something they were thankful for. It was a great time to celebrate the many blessings we have been given. Here are the German words to the chorus of the hymn:

"Alle gute Gabe kommt her von Gott, dem Herrn, 

drum dankt ihm, dankt, drum dankt ihm, dankt, 

und hofft auf ihn."

It reminds us that all our blessings come from the Lord and that we need to always give our thanks to Him!!

Fall is such a wonderful time in this area! There are local festivals to go to and beautiful weather. (Future blog post coming about my fall adventures! Stay tuned...) Pictured below are some fall items collected outside by our students from their homes and the school yard. Then we created little fall creatures and decorations using all natural materials. It is such a fun time of year with so many festive activities to go with the change of the season. This Thursday our class is going to visit the apple orchard like we did last year, to see how our local apple juice is pressed and made! I can't wait :)

I feel so blessed this year to work with an awesome staff of teachers. These people truly are my family away from home. I am so thankful for each one of them and what they bring to our school team. We had a fun staff dinner the other night and pictured below is one of the tables of teachers during our Asian dinner night! YUM. This year is very special, and with staff always changing from year to year, I am cherishing all the moments I have with these wonderful people!

Thank you all for your prayers and love! It means so much to me as you share in my experiences teaching here in Germany. Stay tuned for more updates!