Healthy Eating Celebration

On Thursday we had a Healthy Eating Celebration with our class!

The week before the students got to pick from a list of fruits and vegetables what they would like to contribute to our class lunch. Each student brought a small contribution of fruit or vegetables to add to the pot!

We made a fruit salad and a big batch of vegetable soup to show how delicious and fun it is to be a healthy eater.

On the day of our celebration each student had a cutting board and lots of food to cut up. We worked hard to cut everything into small pieces. (No student's fingers were hurt in this process!) We had awesome parent helpers who helped to guide the students in all the preparation.

Once the soup was cooked, the whole school smelled wonderful! Students came from all grades to see if they could have some of our food. We told them it was just for 2nd grade! :)

I took lots of fun pictures of our day from the beginning to the end.

Enjoy!

A wonderful parent reading "The Berenstein Bears: No More Junk Food" to the class during snack time.

Students learning how to properly use knives and cut vegetables before we stated!

Cutting up the fruits and vegetables!

Look at those onions! The students did a wonderful job!!

The vegetable soup is heating up on the stove and Emilia decided to make an elephant out of an apple.

 

One of our dads brought in a juicer so we could add orange and lemon juice to the fruit salad. So yummy!

The completed fruit salad and cut up vegetables.

While the soup was cooking we went upstairs and translated the names of fruit and vegetables into German and English including the "der, die, or das" for the German words!

 

The soup is ready and we are all excited to eat!

The girls are hungry and it smells so good :)

Excited to eat the soup and homemade bread!

It tasted so good!

It was so much fun to create a class soup and salad that symbolized our unity, helping one another, and how hard work can produce something absolutely wonderful!

 

 

Teaching über Deutschland

On Thursday and Friday afternoons I have the privilege of teaching the first graders Social Studies!

Ok, I'm going to be honest, this does not always feel like a privilege. In fact, if I'm completely honest, sometimes I dread Thursday and Friday at the end of the day.

Here are some of the reasons why:

• The first grade class has 16 German students who only understand a little English (however, they are getting much better at this point in the year!) and there are 4 English speaking students. Needless to say, discipline and communication are rough.
• I teach them the LAST 1/2 hour or hour of the day at the END of the week.
• I'm exhausted. They're exhausting/exhausted.

We started the year doing an "All About Me" unit and book. Then we moved to "Our Families" followed by "Our Community". And now we are on "Our Country". This means I'm teaching about Germany!

When I first realized this I thought, "Me?! Teach Germany? I've only lived here 6 months. I don't know that much about Germany! There are 4 or 5 other German teachers at our school who are way more qualified and would do a MUCH better job teaching the students about Germany then me. I'm not even German!"

However, the Germany unit started last week and I was running the show. I began to learn more of the important details about Germany and I was determined to help the students celebrate their own country. We made German flags and memorized the order of the colors. We traced a map of Germany and found where we lived. We learned the number of German states, the capital, the three major rivers, and the name of the big forest in southern Germany (The Black Forest!).

Here's a picture of them with their cute German flags!

The students will often correct my pronunciation as I try translate words from English to German for them or say the name of the rivers or our state in German. It is a stretching, but good experience for all of us. =)

While I don't always feel up to the challenge of teaching these students, The Lord strengthens me every time. I know I am building relationships with these students that will give us a head start when they are in second grade next year. And I'm excited to help them learn more about their world! I'm grateful for the patience and energy Jesus gives me each week Thursday and Friday rolls around.

 

High School Retreat!

Last weekend was the High School Retreat in Lenk, Switzerland. I wanted to post earlier about the highlights of weekend, but I am just getting around to it!
The entire high school of Black Forest Academy traveled to a beautiful setting in the alps for a weekend to relax and recharge spiritually. It was a wonderful place to be and to connect with students that I don't interact with on a daily basis. As much as I love my second graders, this was a welcomed change!


The view from where we stayed.

The best part of the trip was bonding with my awesome small group of seven, freshman girls. These girls have families serving in countries around the world. Most of the girls live in the various female dorms of BFA and are miles away from their homes.

This weekend provided the opportunity to connect with my small group in a deeper level. We were challenged by the weekend speaker, encouraged by the worship band, and inspired by hearing from a panel of women speakers about issues such as body image and sexuality.


Gathering for worship and a session.

After each session our small group had time to process what we heard and to share with each other about what we were learning. I am so thankful to continue to learn and grow with these girls and for such a wonderful time together.

I also was able to soak in the beauty of the place and enjoy some down time. Saturday afternoon provided some time to venture with staff friends into the town of Lenk, play some Dutch Blitz, and sip coffee while looking at the breathtaking mountains!

 

I didn't want to leave!

Last weekend was a great chance to relax and connect with some awesome people. However, going back into a full week of school was a bit challenging and draining. I really appreciate your prayers for the next two weeks before our Spring Break. The Lord is reminding me that He truly is faithful and my strength. I am so thankful for the wonderful opportunities God has provided and how He will continue to provide.