Meet The Students

Tomorrow will mark the fifth week of school. The students and the teachers are finally settled into a routine… finally. My class is now up to twelve students: six third graders and six fourth graders. They are an absolute joy to be around, and are also very rambunctious. I am delighted to have three students that were previously in my preschool class back in 2007. 

One highlight has been reading Charlotte’s Web aloud to the kids. They have loved it! Classroom activities have included letters to Wilbur (“Dear Wilbur, I love you!”), field trips to see a real runt and a real spider, and creating spider webs using chalk. The kids can really connect with the setting of the book, although the idea of “saving” a pig from being eaten is a little counter-intuitive for them. 

As you know, Tommy has volunteered to teach 6th and 7th grade math in the wake of one of the teachers leaving after the first week of school. He’s doing a fantastic job… he really keeps the kids laughing with his Americanisms like “winner, winner, chicken dinner!” and “it’s on like Donkey Kong!” I think the older boys will be particularly heartbroken when Tommy goes back to being a full-time farmer. 

Thank you for praying for us! The first month here (yes, it’s already been a month!) has been wonderful, challenging, joyful, and stressful. Many yays and yucks. We would really love prayer for wisdom in investing one-on-one time with some of the older kids and for continued profitability for the agricultural enterprises on the farm (which is the primary support for the children who live here). Many crops are being planted now and we are all praying for good weather, abundant water, and the eradication of pests!