Hi all back home. This is Kristi Shaw, one of the teachers
traveling with our group for the teacher seminars. Last night we all
experienced a very violent storm during the night, so we woke up to wet towels,
tables, and chairs, but also to another beautiful sunrise. Our view from the
top of this building where we are staying is spectacular! We shared a breakfast
of French toast casserole and then started the day. The four of us teachers
were taken to the Creole church for the teacher seminars. 45 teachers from this
area were in attendance on our first day, and we are expecting about 60
tomorrow! Sharon started the day, teaching about math by sharing some fun ways
to teach about polygons. She had a very cute book about the “Munch Monster” and
then let the teachers put together and illustrate their own books. Macon
explained how to teach art by drawing some landscapes on the easel with
pastels. She explained drawing foregrounds, middle-grounds and backgrounds and
the concept of perspective. I began teaching some science ideas using the
framework of the 6 days of creation. On the first day God created light, so we
talked about properties of light, and then went outside to use some prisms in
the sunlight to create rainbows. Patti’s time was cut a little short today, but
she began an introduction on how to teach children using picture books, with a
method called TPRS (teaching proficiency through storytelling). Then we decided
to break into four smaller groups with each of us in one group (with a
translator in every group of course). This turned out to be a really fun time for
all of us to get to know the other teachers better, sharing about our families
and asking each other questions. David then joined us to talk to the teachers
about leadership, since as teachers they are all leaders. We ended our time
with lunch together, then headed back to the school in time to see some of the
sports camp still in progress. A very
good first day!
Hello America!! This is a very worn out, but happy Katie
Ricketts. Personally, I was woken up around 3:50am this morning by a pretty
intense storm that was in my opinion very refreshing considering I’m not
sleeping by a window—the breeze from the storm made the room a lot cooler. Before
breakfast some of us took time to wring out soaked towels which was an amazing
bonding time—who woulda thunk! I grew more comfortable with my Spanish throughout
the day. Owen and I performed a skit on the story of Gideon which definitely
threw me out of my comfort zone at a high speed. It was extremely difficult to
explain the game “Kill” to the students—by the end of the day we changed the
game to, “Mono en la Media” (Monkey in the Middle) which was very much enjoyed
by the older children to my surprise. By the end of the camp, many of us were
visibly exhausted—the heat, the Spanish, and the six hours of doing the same
thing tend to take a toll on you!
Also, I’m sorry mom, but I’m pretty sure I lost my towel—it must’ve
flown off of the clothesline.. no worries Chloe Jones is letting me borrow one
of hers.. so no air drying for me! And can you make sure you water my plant at
least twice? Hope you see this! I’ll know you didn’t read the blog if my plant
is dead when I get home. Love you!
Hello all back home, this is Conner Johannigman and I’m here
to talk about my first couple days here in Barahona. While the time I’ve spent
here has mostly been hot, sweaty, and tiring, what I’ve witnessed so far has
more than made up for it. Yesterday was our first day of actual activities and
I got to walk around and pray for families in the community. Getting to see and
hear about the lives of these families was an eye-opening experience and I am
glad that I got to be a part of a group that helped make their lives better in the
long run. Today I helped by playing basketball with the children at camp and I
really enjoyed it! I didn’t know as much Spanish as Owen, so I had to take a
backseat to his teaching, but it’s ok because I still knew more than David. The
nights have been fairly cool which is a relief, and most of the guys have found
enjoyment in going onto the roof and enjoying the view.
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