Just (an) Ordinary Year
English Classes this year were pretty traditional, yet lots of fun and excitement. I have enjoyed working with the kids as we finished up our theme of Sports and Health, and I know they have learned a lot throughout the year. Not only new English vocabulary, but also confidence in speaking, teamwork, and translation skills. I am looking forward to our last lesson of review with these kids before all the summer activities. The adult class fluctuated many times throughout the year with some adults coming and going as the seasons of life allowed. It was a strong group of women that held out to the end of the year, carving out the time to come and enjoy the last lessons and gaining lots of English practice. Sitting with these women doesn't always seem like English Class as we have become friends along the way, and I have enjoyed the time spent with all the students over the course of this year.
Juniors Often Yell
When entering into the Mother's Center, it is only a matter of time before the room is filled with bubbly, loud toddlers! And I enjoy the moments of noise as it shows they are comfortable and familiar with the space, friends, and with me. They look forward to the songs and activities we do together through smiles and giggles. Often now, it is the kids who will start to sit down for circle time calling, "Kendra! Come for 'Hello Song'!" They can each sing our familiar greeting on their own as they wave to their friends in the circle. We sing the same song at the end of class substituting "hello" for "bye-bye". Recently, I had the Littles sit down in the circle (as they always do) to sing "bye-bye" and one Little started singing "hello". I gently said that it is time to leave and so we are now singing "bye-bye" not "hello". The Little said, "I know... but I don't want to go yet." I believe it isn't hard for the mothers to get the kids out of the house to come to Little Linguists each week.
Learning Stoplights
Puppet Time
Spider Craft
Jokes Often Yearned
Toward the end of the school year, the teachers are at a loss for how to keep their students engaged in class through the month of June as summer begins the first week of July in Czech. When one teacher asked if I could come visit the class, I mentioned it can often get busy just before summer as I am preparing for all the summer activities. The teacher said, "It doesn't have to be a whole lesson. Even if the kids just listen to some English stories, that would be completely wonderful!" Well, that had my attention, because (as many of you may already know) I love reading, especially with the kids in my English classes! I grabbed a stack of Elephant and Piggie books, some memory games I had left from other lessons I had taught, and cut-outs of our beloved characters. The students could not stop laughing at the jokes throughout the books as they longed for another story and another joke with our silly, new sketched friends. We read, compared, and wrote our stories about Elephant and Piggie. I had pictures of Boskovice from an old calendar that the kids used to create backgrounds to the stories. One kid said, "Hey! That is my house! Can Elephant and Piggie visit me in the story?!" For the kids to connect the stories and English to their personal lives was the best for the application of the lesson, and the teacher agreed, it couldn't have been a better morning.
Jumble Of Youngsters
Kid's Club in Letovice has many kids coming and going throughout the days. Even when the kid's know there isn't club, they often stop by to see if there is someone in the building - whether it is the cool bottom floor or the WiFi that they are attracted to even on non-club days, I'm not sure, but I like to think that they simply feel that the building is a "home" for them and they feel comfortable within the lime-green walls of the Elim building.
Jump Or Yield
In both of our clubs, the entryways are lined with dozens of scooters as the kids roll into club. We have noticed that a handful of our Boskovice kids are coming to our club location in Letovice to use the skatepark near Elim since Boskovice doesn't have ramps and rails for the kids. Since there is a large open space out front of the Boskovice club, we got the kids a mini-ramp and rail. Their excitement was bursting! A few of them were a little timid at first - yielding right before jumping the ramp or sliding the rail, but after a couple of the kids rolled over the new equipment, they all started working on new tricks. We have started moving a couch outside to watch the kids during club as there are just as many kids inside as outside!
Journey. Openness. You.
One of my greatest joys is this Connect Club! These kids are learning so fast as we cover the very first Bible Stories. Listening to the girls review the stories we have learned is one of my favorite moments. We started with Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, and then continued to the story of Abraham. We have a mini-timeline on our flip-chart for the kids to follow. As I pointed to the different names on the timeline, the group all added onto each other in review before covering the story of Isaac and Rebekah."Abraham was very old and married to Sarah."
"But, God gave him a promise."
"He will have as many children as the stars."
"Then, they had Isaac. His name means 'laughter' because he was a surprise miracle."
"And Abraham almost killed Isaac."
"He was to be a sacrifice, like Jesus is for us."
"But God had another plan, and they sacrificed a ram instead."
Me: "Great! What needs to happen now in the story? How will God keep his promise with Abraham?"
"Isaac needs to have children!"
Me: "Yes... but what will Isaac need before children?"
"Isaac needs to be married! He needs a wife!"
The kids taught themselves the lesson of Isaac and Rebekah - reading it from our Children's Bible and acting out the characters in the story. There was more laughter than acting, and it was a lesson to remember for a long time.
Acting out the story of Isaac and Rebekah
The Cast
We continued with the story of Jacob and Esau and discussed with the girls the value of family relationships. Many of our students explained that it is sometimes difficult to show God's love to their siblings, but they were willing to make a step to try. So, we asked the kids to write a note to their siblings and put it in a little necklace to give to their siblings. We are praying that these kids are witnesses in their families and that their siblings will also see God's love for them.
Learning about Jacob and Esau
Jubilee Of Youth
Worshiping with these youth kids is a favorite part of youth program time. One week, we had moved worship to after the program, whereas we normally have it before. I was talking with some of the kids before youth group and one was telling his friend (new to youth group) that we will start with worship, so I explained that we were actually going to do worship at the end, to which he responded, "What? You can't just change the program like that! There is a system... I guess I'm used to worshiping first."
Spontaneous worship at Kid's Day Festival
A couple of weeks ago, one of our youth students suggested we go to a Christian Music Festival. Even as the youngest member of our youth team, he took on the role of coordinating, planning, and navigating. It was so fun watching him take on the leadership for this event as it is exactly what we have been praying for. We even had our own worship jam session in between the sets as we created a makeshift drum with sicks and a bench and had a box of candy to shake to keep the beat! These students were the first ones to get up close to the stage during worship as they praised God through singing, dancing, and clapping. I simply enjoyed sitting and watching them experience God's love through this worship, for it was through watching them worship that I had the biggest moment of joy as I prayed for each of them in their journeys.
Joining Our Yes!
I have been to Prague multiple times and can maneuver around the tourist areas relatively well, which is why I adore meeting up with friends in Prague and joining them in experiencing the city! There are treasures in this city to see through the eyes of someone who is visiting for the first time, and I enjoy noticing all the little pieces of beauty in this city through their perspectives. I had a wonderful weekend as I visited with some great friends from Minnesota, joining them for a day on their family vacation. They quickly said "yes" to all the ideas I suggested for our day in Prague, and I was blessed with a little "piece of home" for the day with these friends.
