This was a great week in Karanse. After months of doing basic (and very necessary) curriculum on theory of Christian education and observation in the classrooms, several of our student teachers did their frst teaching of classes this week. No one has done a full lesson, yet, as we're easing them into this a lttle at a time, but it was great to see it begin to come together for them. One of my students, 6 foot tall, worldly-wise Agaba, said, the day before it would be his turn, "I think I'll faint!" He ddn't, and they all did fine. Still have much to learn, but a really good first step.
Because they're all working in pairs at different grade levels, I had some extra time to observe in the classrooms as our Karanse teachers taught, too. This is always one of my favorite things, and this week was no exception. I'm always so pleased (and surprised, I have to admit) when they do creative things, outdoor classes, group work, etc. They've been taught all of those things (some of them by me at JTTC the last time I lived here), but they're so counter-cultural that I love to see them going against the tide of their culture and actually doing it!
Hopefully, my downloading of pictures will work and you can see a couple of them for yourself! The look on their faces is relief! Elijah and Daniel taught in first and second grades and did wall dsplays with the children's work, so that's their pictures of that, too.
Finally got some Christmas and New Year's pictures loaded, too, so I'll include a couple of those, too.
Me with my sponsored children
Me with my sponsored children
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Heri ya mwaka mpya!
Which, of course, is Happy New Year in Swahili! As soon as we learned that phrase, from a cashier on New Year's Day, we used it on everyone we could, for practice, and got great smiles from secrty guards, waiters, etc. Hopefully, they were smiling because they were pleased, not because mne and Shelley's pronunciations were bad!
It was a happy new year and a very merry Christmas. Christmas morning began with breakfast on the patio with Joanna, Simon, Neil, Janet, Shelley, Sarah, and me. We ate wonderful food, read the Christmas story together, listened to Christmas music, and watched Sarah open presents! She was the only one who had gotten packages and not opened them already!
Then several of us watched "White Christmas," whch I pretty much have memorized and no one else had even seen! Then we had to take a break and go eat a huge buffet lunch at Mountain Village, a really nice hotel overlooking a lake, up on a hill.
Resting and reading for awhile that afternoon, then we got together that night as a team/family for snacks and present exchange. was finally able to call home after that, as Christmas was just getting underway in the States. A really nice day.
The next week Sarah and I spent at Cradle of Love baby orphanage and loved on under-3-year olds, fed them, cuddled them, etc. We had a ball! We plan on going back on Sunday afternoons a couple of times a month so they don't forget us, and we don't forget them!
New Year's Day, several of us packed a picnic lunch and went to a lodge/resort hotel for the day for swimming, reading, eating, relaxing (except for Joanna who was doing MORE wedding planning!).
Started back to school last week and went out to Karanse last week and Monday and Tuesday of this week to get everyone settled back in. This is the term where they begin their rotations of observing in a set classroom, teaching small groups, leading various activities, and finally teaching for a whole week. They're excited and a little nervous, as I remember from my own student teaching days!
This week we picked up 2 additional students from the St. Dorcas group. That school just wasn't workng as a training school, so we had to (temporarily, we hope) split them up and send them to 3 different schools, including Karanse. They were happily accepted by "our" students, who knew them from their time together at Joshua in July and August.
FINALLY, this Saturday is Joanna's wedding! It really has only been in the planning stages since September, but since I live with Joanna and am in charge of many parts of the reception, I feel like it's been in planning for a lot longer! It will be wonderful, and we're all so excited for them both.Hope to have pictures soon.
It was a happy new year and a very merry Christmas. Christmas morning began with breakfast on the patio with Joanna, Simon, Neil, Janet, Shelley, Sarah, and me. We ate wonderful food, read the Christmas story together, listened to Christmas music, and watched Sarah open presents! She was the only one who had gotten packages and not opened them already!
Then several of us watched "White Christmas," whch I pretty much have memorized and no one else had even seen! Then we had to take a break and go eat a huge buffet lunch at Mountain Village, a really nice hotel overlooking a lake, up on a hill.
Resting and reading for awhile that afternoon, then we got together that night as a team/family for snacks and present exchange. was finally able to call home after that, as Christmas was just getting underway in the States. A really nice day.
The next week Sarah and I spent at Cradle of Love baby orphanage and loved on under-3-year olds, fed them, cuddled them, etc. We had a ball! We plan on going back on Sunday afternoons a couple of times a month so they don't forget us, and we don't forget them!
New Year's Day, several of us packed a picnic lunch and went to a lodge/resort hotel for the day for swimming, reading, eating, relaxing (except for Joanna who was doing MORE wedding planning!).
Started back to school last week and went out to Karanse last week and Monday and Tuesday of this week to get everyone settled back in. This is the term where they begin their rotations of observing in a set classroom, teaching small groups, leading various activities, and finally teaching for a whole week. They're excited and a little nervous, as I remember from my own student teaching days!
This week we picked up 2 additional students from the St. Dorcas group. That school just wasn't workng as a training school, so we had to (temporarily, we hope) split them up and send them to 3 different schools, including Karanse. They were happily accepted by "our" students, who knew them from their time together at Joshua in July and August.
FINALLY, this Saturday is Joanna's wedding! It really has only been in the planning stages since September, but since I live with Joanna and am in charge of many parts of the reception, I feel like it's been in planning for a lot longer! It will be wonderful, and we're all so excited for them both.Hope to have pictures soon.
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