Pastor: "Sit so you can see everyone in the circle."
Little girl: "I can't see Kendra because I am sitting on her lap."
Me: "Here's a selfie - now you can see me."
Little girl to pastor while holding the phone: "You may continue..." :)
Last Friday, I was invited to as school in a nearby town called Cerna Hora. They were having a "Culture Day" at their school and asked me to come speak about American culture. As I was preparing the presentation, I realized the difficulty of describing American culture because America is really the combination of many cultures! To illustrate this point, the students and I pretended we were Secret Agents looking for America's Missing Culture by doing research and "visiting" different regional areas of America. In each region, there was an activity or observation time for the kids to experience (like feeling seashells from CA or tasting chocolate as we visited Hershey, Penn.). At the final location of our journey, I brought them to Minnesota and shared dozens of pictures from my home. I encouraged the kids to draw their homes (on Post-It notes - because Art Fry, the creator of Post-Its is from MN) as they thought about their own culture at home and how each home and family is different. I always enjoy the time visiting the schools and experiencing the school-life in Czech.
School in Cerna Hora
Post-It Note Homes
While at the Elementary School, I had a teacher ask me what curriculum book I use when teaching my English Lessons. I explained that my class is an addition to the work that they are already doing in school and is organized to focus on building their confidence and increasing their understanding of conversation English. After explaining this, I said to the teacher "these kids get enough bookwork in school. I believe that a child in Elementary School should learn a second language similar to the way they learn a first language - through experiencing play. Therefore, my curriculum is topically based with games and speaking at the core of the lesson." The teacher was really impressed with this answer and agreed that the school does place a lot of pressure on children with writing and reading which causes them to be timid speakers. While some of my students were timid speakers when we started English Lessons at the beginning of the school year, they are definitely not shy now! I praise God that I have the opportunity not only to influence these kids, but also encourage the English teachers at the school.
In Kid's English Class, we wrapped-up our unit theme on "Time" with learning times of the day (morning, afternoon, night, etc.) and times of the week (yesterday, today, tomorrow, etc.). The kids and I have really enjoyed this theme and all the games that come with sorting and telling time. In the winter, I focused on making activities that were active and could still be played indoors - whereas now, the majority of our lesson time actually takes place outside! We will play games, have circle time, and even do partner worksheets while in the summer sun. I think the kids are ready for me to move the lessons to the swimming pool, however, because the heat continues to rise each week!
Outdoor Games
Sorting Time
Little Linguists has finished for the summer holidays, but I really enjoyed these last couple of days with the littlest learners and their mothers. Through teaching the youngest kids, I was reminded of the simplicity of learning. By the last lesson, the kids had favorite songs they requested to sing and favorite activities (the parachute being the ultimate favorite!). They greeted me saying "hello" and waved "bye-bye" at the end of the lesson. It might be basic, but these children who haven't yet started preschool are already taking the first steps to learning a second language.
Parachute Time
Besides playing with the little kids, I also enjoyed getting to know the mothers each week.
As a child, I remember asking my mom why she gets Mother's Day and dad gets Father's Day, and there is no Kid's Day. My mom told me "kid's day is everyday." False. Kid's Day is June 1st and celebrated by Czechs! We took a group of the kids from club to the town square for Kid's Day events. There were bouncy castles, trampolines, and dancing. Many of the little girls in Letovice baton spin! It is unique to this city to have so many different age groups of baton spinners, and I definitely enjoyed watching many of the little girls I know show their skills. Celebrating the kids in this city warmed my heart as I realized how many children I get to connect with and share God's love with each week.
Trip to the Square for Kid's Day!
One of the Baton Spinning groups. Their outfits in this routine reminded me of traditional Czech dresses.
Matching Lemonades - Cheers! :)
Learning to Baton Spin from the best little spinners!
The time with kids at club in Boskovice is always exciting! We regularly play big games like dodgeball or Nerf Wars, but there is also lots of time where the kids are grouped up playing the various games throughout the room - foosball, ping-pong, air hockey, pool, and table games. Last week, I joined a group of kids who seemed to create their own table game. Each player had a dice. We all rolled the dice and the player with the lowest number had to do some challenge - like doing five push-ups or belly-crawling under the table. I enjoyed watching the kids play this game; even though it was simple, it was better to be together playing than alone on mobile devices.
At Bible Class, we have finished the gospel of Mark and are enjoying the time mostly in discussion of questions the kids have from the Bible or sharing meaningful Bible stories in our own lives. To illustrate this, the kids have been playing games - like charades of Bible stories for the other team to guess or making lists of Bible characters and seeing if the people on your team had the same answers. They are fun games and great for the kids to look back at all we have learned through studying the gospel of Mark and reflecting on His Word.
Charades
Twice a month, I join a group of our club half-leaders for a Bible Study. It has quickly become one of my favorite times of the week as we enjoy the time eating, chatting, and studying Scripture. We normally meet at the youth pastor's house, but due to the nice weather and also to celebrate God's healing of one of our friends with cancer, we proceeded to have a campfire party! I loved being able to sit around the campfire with so many friends and realizing how God has blessed me in so many ways to get to know these kids years ago and watch them grow. They are asking questions about God's love for them personally and each seeking their own understanding of the truth in the gospel. I am excited to see where God will lead each of them next in this journey.
This past week, I shared my first Youth Group message at our youth club in Boskovice! We meet in Boskovice twice a month for youth group and are seeing that many kids who are coming for club are also coming to youth group. We can see how this opportunity is really expanding our conversations and connections with the kids in this community. Our current theme is "Who is Jesus?". We have looked at Jesus as a leader and friend, so I focused on Jesus as the teacher and gardener. God prompted me to use the Parable of the Seeds to illustrate how even weeds grow in good soil, but the gardener helps to remove the weeds before they overtake the plants. I described how Jesus is like the gardener who can remove the hurt and distractions in our own lives to keep us growing closer to Him.
They were each different areas where the seeds fell in the parable of the seeds - with little chocolates representing the seeds :)
I want to thank you all again for your prayers for my visa. I was approved for a two-year residency visa, and I am thrilled to be continuing in the work God has for me here! Thank you again for your support and encouragement. I will be returning to Minnesota this week to be a part of a close friend's wedding and then flying back to Czech right before all the summer activities start. Please pray for the travel and for the quick transitions as there will be much to do!