la Navidad

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

el Adviento

This week...

...we decorated the chapel for Christmas...

...we began the season of Advent with lessons about hope and peace...

 ...we hung out with a group of interpreting students from Ohio...

  

...we learned Christmas songs together...

...they helped us with our school work...

...and, possibly, my favorite thing that happened this week--drumroll please--I got a new LCD projector for my classroom (thanks to goodsearch.com money), and my two new donated computers are finally up and running!  Now all of my students can use computers in our room at the same time! 

 

Don't they look happy!

los tres cerditos

 

This week, my class read The Three Little Pigs to the little kids.  Johanely was absent, so Kristian and Larimar filled in.

Then, of course, the little kids had a chance to tell us the story.

acción de gracias

It's hard to be away from family on Thanksgiving. (Thanks to Skype, though, I was able to sit with them around the dining room table!)  

Even though I wasn't near my real family, I was able to spend the day with some of the people who are quickly becoming like family to me.  Equipped with chairs, books, sunglasses and a cooler full of turkey sandwiches,  we headed to the second best place to spend Thanksgiving...the beach!

We spent the long weekend with some lovely visitors from Missouri with whom we ate a lot of ice cream and laughed almost nonstop!  We went to a town fair, did a little Christmas shopping in San Juan, and visited a gallery of local artists at the rain forest.  

Not a bad way to spend a weekend...but by Monday morning, we were all pretty exhausted!

una cuenta

Every Friday, my students read a book to the pre-k/kindergarten class. This is often my favorite time of the week.

This past Friday, they read a book about a scavenger hunt and then planned one for the little kids. To my dismay, my students were really dragging that morning. They lethargically stood up in front of the little kids to being reading. (I thought it was going to be impossible for them to keep the kids’ attention.) Then, all of a sudden, they spun around so we could not see their faces. They appeared to be scheming. Then next thing we knew, they jumped and spun back around with grinning, excited faces. (Sometimes I really love them!)

After the story---the hunt began!

You can almost feel their excitement, can't you?

Saúl is searching really hard for the next clue!

When they had found the last clue and eaten the prize, they decided to work together to create a scavenger hunt for Kristian and Judy.

After all that fun we enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with the ladies from Palmas Community Church.  It was the first of what will be at least 5 Thanksgivings that we'll have.

On Saturday, Jen and I were geared up to do a 5K (my first ever) at Parque Central in San Juan.  It was a beautiful day.  Sunny and clear, warm and breezy.  We punched the race address into Garmin, and an hour later we arrived at our destination: Parque Central...de los Niños.  We quickly realized that this was not the Parque Central that we wanted--this was a kid's park!  After driving around searching for some other central park in the city, the start time for the race came and went.  So what were we to do but got out for Chinese food?

My first 5K was so easy--maybe next time I'll do a 10K!

la suerte

Some days my kids drive me crazy and I wonder what I'm doing in a room of teenagers.

But on days like today--when I spent the majority of my afternoon laughing and singing with my students--I consider myself very lucky to call this my job!

gracias

Here's another reason I love my job:

This morning my kids were in some kind of funk. I could see it in their faces that it was going to be a rough day. So after chapel, I jokingly said to Betsy (the teacher in the room next to me--and the principal), "Let's switch kids today."

And she said, "Okay!"

A half-hour later when I returned to my class, my children were sitting quietly with smiles on their faces and with their vocabulary notebooks open and ready on their desks.

So, this post is for you, Betsy. Thank you for coming to my rescue in a moment of desperation, for lending me your sweet and smiling children, and most of all--for straightening out my hormonal teenagers so that we could have a smooth day.

la lluvia

Today was the first sunny day in what feels like two weeks (maybe I’m exaggerating), but what I know for sure is that we’re all looking a little pale. Who would have thought you could get seasonal depression in Puerto Rico!

Hopefully we can go to the beach tomorrow!

noviembre

I had a mini-crisis on Monday when I realized that it was already the beginning of November.—Where has the time gone? I am nowhere near where I thought I’d be with the kids by now.—As I counted the days we will have off this month and remembered that most of December is filled with bell practices and performances, I realized that I have less than a month left to teach this semester. Since I had just begun a big research project with my kids, I felt that my feelings of crisis were perfectly justified.

After some pep talks from my colleagues, some tweaking of the research project’s parameters, and lots of prayer, I decided that it might be possible for my students to complete their reports in time. Needless to say, I spent every morning this week sitting next to and standing over my kids as they searched the internet for information on their topics. I made it very clear that there was no time for playing around. (How appropriate that one of our vocabulary words this week was concentrate.) We all worked hard, and by Friday, they had each finished taking notes! Phase one: complete.

Our week ended with a lovely performance by the ladies in our community sign language class. The class is led by the mother of one of our students. She picked out a beautiful song for the group to sign called Tú Eres Mi Rey (You Are My King). At the end of chapel time, the ladies (including two mothers and one grandmother of our kids) filed on to the stage as the children watched with grinning faces. It was so wonderful to see these women praising God in a language that the children understand.

el dia de química

Friday was Chemistry Day at the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao.  Because we are the chemist’s favorite school group, we’re invited to attend every year.  All of the kids were excited to go.  Those who had been there before had their favorite experiments in mind that they wanted to see again.  First timers—like me—didn’t know what to expect but were excited simply because everyone else was. 

At 7:55am, we piled into the van and hit the road.

I wish this is how the little boys were acting during the entire car ride!  Unfortunately, when the photo-op passed, so did their interest in sleeping!

Here are the highlights from the chemistry magic show led by the magnificent Dr. Suarez—in his amazing Technicolor lab coat!

No matter how hard he tries—Edwin will never be able to blow up this balloon.  This was the first trick and one of the favorites, as the little boys kept reaching for their bottles for the duration of the presentation.

Larimar, who hates getting her hair wet, bravely sat under a bucket of water as it was spun over her head.

My personal favorite was watching bubbles hang suspended in mid-air...

...and watching the kids’ intrigued faces.  I attempted to capture that sentiment here...

 ...and here.

Another highlight was watching the effects of mixing water, dry ice, and dish soap...

...and popping the resulting bubbles.

 

What magic show would be complete without putting children in bubbles?

 And of course..a grand finale!

 

I can't wait to see what Dr. Suarez has up his multicolored sleeve for us next year!

los adolescentes

Let me begin by saying that I really love my students. They make me laugh a lot in class, and we have fun. When they are interested in a subject matter, they are very focused and curious. That said--this week their teenager-ness really started to get to me, and I was reminded why I went to school for elementary (not high school) education! But Friday eventually arrived, and we all made it through another week together. Praise the Lord!

Every day I am finding out more and more strongly that most of what I learned in college does not apply to teaching deaf children. This can be disheartening at times, but I am staying positive. I can consider my time here as a free education. Fortunately, I have three experienced teachers here to help guide me!

On Saturday afternoon, I was able to forget all my cares for a few hours as I sat on a deserted beach and floated in a crystal-clear ocean. God knows that I need these moments to relax and regain strength for the coming week.

It’s not all frustrating, though…here’s a positive thought from the week:

I’m really enjoying serving as a part-time art teacher. It is gratifying to see a student who once hated art now asking to spend his recess working on his project! Here are some pictures of the middle-school students showing off their latest finished pieces. They learned how to mix primary colors. They also explored creating unique textures by painting with unconventional objects (q-tips, sponges, and cotton balls). They were very proud of their finished products…as was I.

las termitas

I knew I’d learn a lot during my time here—like sign language and new teaching techniques—but there are so many more unforeseen skills that I’m acquiring. Here’s what I’ve learned this past week:
• How to jump start a car when the battery is dead
• How to change a car battery
• How to use a grass trimmer
• And perhaps the most exciting—how to get rid of termites!
Now the last one may not sound exciting—and initially, it wasn’t—but in the end it was quite enjoyable. Here’s how it went…First, I found evidence of termites in my dresser. Then, I didn’t sleep well that night because I kept thinking about the little creatures that were eating my furniture two feet from my bed. The next day, though, I was able to exact my revenge on the bugs. So how do we get rid of termites here? We smash the furniture to pieces with a sledge hammer and then burn it!

Almost makes you want to have termites in your dresser, doesn’t it?

And now on to school news…
Last week was a short week because of the holiday—we only had three days of school. The kids got their first report cards of the year. Like usual, some were happy with their grades, and others…not so much. I had a nice long chat with a student in the latter category. The initial progress that we saw in him has plateaued, or maybe regressed a bit. Hopefully this report card is the kick in the pants that he needs.

oraciones contestadas

This week, I’ve come up with some reasons why I love working at a private school:

·         My students can bring their laptops to school so we have enough working computers for them to type their memoirs.

·         My kids were begging to look at blood under the microscope, so last week ended with three students pricking each others’ fingers to get blood samples.

·         We had planned on taking this Monday off for Columbus Day.  Then we found out that the Puerto Rican schools were closed on Tuesday.  So what did we do?...we took them both off!  (Be assured, though, that we spent a good part of today in our classrooms working)

So, when I get tired or frustrated…God gives me these sorts of reminders to let me know that this is the right place for me to be!

Speaking of God…

When I looked out my window this morning and saw the shining sun, I decided to go for a walk on the beach.  I went downstairs to the van, and I realized that I had forgotten to grab my cell phone.  I was going to leave it, but for some reason I felt strongly that I should go upstairs and get it. 

After a lovely walk, I got back in the van to come home.  To my dismay, the van wouldn’t start.  First, I panicked.  Then, I thanked God for reminding me to get my phone.  Then I called for help.  Jen and Judy arrived shortly with jumper cables.  The three of us plus two owner’s manuals successfully jumped the van. 

When we got home, we briefly discussed what we should do about the car battery.  Since none of us know much about cars, we decided to wait until later to figure it out.  Not long after that, our friend, who helps us every once in a while with maintenance jobs around the school, showed up unexpectedly at the gate.  He had intended on fixing a rain gutter, but instead he took a look at the van! 

Isn’t God wonderful?  He answers prayers even before you pray them.

mis tres artistas

Here are their paintings. 

¡Viva México!

I was doing so well with posting once a week…and then I decided to be lazy this past weekend.   I have been informed, though, that people actually read this, so here is my post…

Last week was interesting.  It started with me and one of my students butting heads for two days.  I think every conversation we had involved me scolding him.  He actually seemed to respond, though.  Then, a different student was absent for a few days, and the student with the attitude was wonderful for the rest of the week.  On Tuesday, I didn’t think I’d make it through the week.  On Friday, I was ready for more!

Also on Friday, we had Mexico day.  (A group from Jen and Judy’s church cooks lunch for us once a month, and each month they’ll be bringing food from a different culture.)  So we had lots of fun on Friday.  Each class did a small report on Mexico.  My kids learned about the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and each recreated one of his paintings.  I was so proud of them!  They did a wonderful job.  Unfortunately, I still haven’t learned to keep my camera with me at school, so I don’t have pictures.  Maybe if all my students are in school at the same time this week, I will put up a picture this weekend.

una aventura

My school week in six words…Crazy kids, stern reprimands, improved behavior.

On Saturday we put all that behind us and took the oldest 2 classes to San Juan to see the recently-opened King Tut exhibit. The kids were excited, and they were very well behaved. They asked good questions and seemed to have a good time.

Judy and I had gone into the city early to visit San Cristobal Fort with her visiting family. It was interesting to learn about the history of the city and its importance to Spain. The views from the fort were spectacular, too!

Our perfect day trip ended rather eventfully. About 20 minutes into the ride home, as we headed toward the highway that leads to the school, traffic was being diverted. (We later found out that there had been a shooting at that spot). At the time, though, all we knew was that we had 2 choices: Sit in the traffic and hope that it begins moving, or have an adventure. We chose the latter!

We backtracked, took the first exit we came to and tried to use Garmin to get us home. Thanks to the adventurous spirits in my car (Judy, her son, his girlfriend, and me) and Jason’s superior navigating and Garmin-overriding skills, we drove over a mountain, looped around the rain forest, and managed to approach home from the opposite direction. Three hours—not the normal 45 minutes—later, we pulled into the school.

The day was just going too smoothly…I guess we should have expected some excitement!