Kids Say.

One of my favorite things about teaching is the things my kids say. I will say it is annoying when I explain a situation or activity, and then get a million questions about what I just explained! At the moment it is not funny, but later it is. For example:

The other day I told the kids, "This afternoon they are going to be setting up for the school play in the Multi-Purpose Room, so you have to eat lunch outside." Immediately afterwards I hear a resounding, "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?"

And now for some funny/cute kid conversations I have had recently.

Example #1

Student: You know those blue sport drinks?

ME: Yea, like Powerade?

Student: Yes, that. My mom says girls are not suppose to drink them. But Brittany does!!

ME: Really? Well, when I was younger I drank them.

Student: That is not good (looks me over). That is why you are so short!

Example #2

I asked the kids if anyone knew how many states were in the USA.

Student 1: 50!!

Student 2: There used to be 51 until Texas left the US.

ME: No, Texas is still part of the US.

Student 2: Yea...but not really.

ME: No, Texas IS A part of the United States, right now.

Student 2: Okay (still not convinced)

Example #3

Last week I noticed a few ESL students writing homework like this:

Math - Complete Workshit page 89

Example #4

At recess, a pigeon was flying around with a nail stuck to his foot. The kids were trying to help him.

Teacher: Does anyone know pigeon? (looks at a student) Do you speak pigeon??

Student: No...I speak cat. (like DUH!)

They make me smile :)

Crazyness

I can go for weeks with having nothing out of the ordinary planned...just school, church, and being at my apartment. And then there are times when everything I want to do is planned for the same day or week. This past week was one of those times. For months I had been looking forward to attending the High School Dinner Theatre, a performance of "The Importance of Being Earnest." I found out about a month ago that several friends were planning a trip down to Cappadocia the same weekend. I felt torn between doing both, and finally decided to attend the dinner theatre on Friday night, and fly out early Saturday morning for Cappadocia with a few girls (the others left Friday evening on an overnight bus). Anyways to say that it was a crazy, busy weekend would be an understatement. My weekend went something like this:

Wake up at 6am for school Friday.

Find out that my kids won't go to their only special for the day because the Music teacher is sick. Therefore, I don't get a break, since I also have recess duty AND my kids have to eat outside because of the school play.

Help parents set up for our Roman Banquet (in celebration of the end of our Roman Empire Unit).

Get a notice that school will dismiss 30 minutes early due to roads closing at 4pm.

Stay after school until 6pm grading papers and working on report cards.

Attend Dinner Theatre (SO WONDERFUL!)

Get home around 11pm and in bed after midnight.

Wake up at 4:30am to leave for 6:30 flight to Cappadocia.

Meet up with the rest of the group at 9am at our hotel to begin our tour.

After lunch rent mopeds and drive around. The rain/hail stopped us, but only for a short while

Dinner and in bed by midnight.

Wake up at 5am for the Hot Air Balloon Ride. I cannot even describe it except to say that it was incredible and if any of you ever get the chance DO IT!

Back to hotel for Turkish breakfast and a tour starting at 9am.

Private tour ALL DAY with a tour guide...saw underground cities, monastaries, beautiful parks/valleys, caves, etc.

Back at hotel by 5:30 pm to leave for airport at 6.

Land back in Istanbul at 10pm, take a taxi to my apartment.

In bed by midnight. Up again at 6am and start one of the longest weeks of my life (report cards, field trip, parent conference, and teaching!)

Needless to say, it was a great weekend and I am glad I did it all.

a few weeks ago....

I am really bad with blogging about things when they happen. A few weeks ago...March 19th to be exact...I had my 3rd grade girls over for a sleepover. My roommate, who happens to be the 5th grade teacher, and I thought it would be fun to have our girls over one weekend. At first we were going to do it together, but her 14 girls and my 11 girls would make a total of 25 girls. AND that would have been ridiculous. So we decided to have them over 2 seperate weekends. Her 5th grade girls came the weekend before mine. Both weekends were a lot of fun and I am so glad we did it. I was a little worried with my group, that they may be too young, feelings could get hurt, girls get homesick, etc. But it was a very exciting and memorable night, as you can see from the pictures. The girls stayed after school with me and rode the teacher bus home. We put in the movie, UP, right away, while I ordered the pizza! After pizza, I jokingly said that I was going to send them outside to play in the dark. Next thing I know, they are all putting on shoes and jackets. Haha. So out we went....no worries we just played around in the garden area right behind my apartment and told stories. It was a really sweet time. I taught them how to play mafia, but that only lasted a few rounds (can be quite difficult and complicated with 8 year olds, and half of them are ESL). A night of pillow fights and dancing followed. My girls COULD NOT believe that their teacher danced. They said I was a good teacher, but that I should have been a dancer and singer. I was that good :)At 11pm, we put in Pippy Longstocking to watch (it was going to be Annie, but it is rated PG for language!) I slept in the room with them incase there were any problems. At 6am they started stirring and talking, I very calming told them it was WAY to early to be awake and there was to be no talking. That lasted an hour. At 7, I turned the movie back on and kept sleeping on the couch. At 8 I finally got up to fix pancakes.
While waiting for parents to arrive we danced. The night before I had taught them all kinds of lines dances (Tush Push, Cha Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, Hoedown Throwdown). It was a fun and exhausting weekend. I look forward to doing it again, but not for another year!!

Spring Break!

Well spring break is officially over...I go back to school and back to reality tomorrow. The past 10 days were incredible. I had such a wonderful time with my friends from America and it was a truly a delight to be with them. I could go on and on about how great it was to spend time with friends from college, to have them in my city for a week, to catch up, etc - but instead I'll just comment briefly on a few highlights from the week.

First off, I have lived here for over a year now and this past week I experienced my city in a way I never have before. We spent the entire week with Turks who were intent on showing us a good time. They took us everywhere - a few places I had been before and several new places. It was awesome. The eating feast and talking never stopped, I loved every minute. We literally went from one restaurant or cafe to another - eating waffles, chocolate, pasta, meat, sandwiches and drinking coffee, tea, ayran, etc. Almost every night we had to take a taxi back home because by the time we stopped fellowshiping the buses had quit running. This gave me A LOT of practice with my Turkish :)

New favorite things to do: Nargile and Tavla, Singing Karoke in Taksim
New places to go: Caddebostan Parki, KOÇ UNIVERSITY
New foods: Kokoreç (not my favorite), Sütiş Restaurant in Emirgan
More fun stuff: Riding bikes around Prince's Islands, going to football games/practices, Hamam (Turkish Bath), Terayki Cafe and Park

All in all it was a fabulous week. I grew to love this country and the people here even more and am grateful my friends were able to experience a part of my life. Here are a few pictures...I'll put more on facebook soon.

A Perfect Day

Yesterday was such a great day...for so many reasons. First of all, it was Friday and the last day before Spring Break. It was also the day that some dear friends from Raleigh arrived. Oh what joy!! I had looked forward to this day for quite some time and was thrilled when it finally arrived. I had a few fun things planned for the afternoon - dying eggs and my kids had earned a ice cream sundae party for learning all their times tables - and so I knew I needed some help. I was going to ask a few parents to come in, but then thought I would ask to see if my friends wanted to help. They were such troopers, especially since they literally stepped off the plane and came straight to my school.

They are not words to adequately describe how incredible it was to see all their sweet faces and get some hugs. Having them at school with me all afternoon – helping in my classroom and playing with my kids – was wonderful. I have had friends/family come visit and have always taken them out to my school to show them around. But this was the first time I have had friends spend the day with me at school. Here are some pictures from my perfect day :)



Daniel and Andrew played Hangman with my kids - this entertained them for a long time and they loved it!Sitting with Quinn and catching up - priceless!Quinn surrounded by my 3rd graders - helping them dye eggs.In line for the Easter Egg Hunt. Paige was so kind to stop by CVS last minute (like an hour before going to the airport) to get me some eggs. It was great, some of my kids had never done this before.Multiplication Ice Cream Sundae Party...everyone was such a HUGE help!

Take Me In

My heart has been heavy all day. Good stuff, just weighty.

This past week, I have been studying the Tabernacle with my kids. I've studied the Tabernacle several times throughout highschool and college. In 7th grade at HCA, I had to make a Tabernacle (with the help of my daddy). My junior year of college while studying Hebrews with some girls, I once again did an indepth look at the Tabernacle. I have heard countless talks and songs about the Tabernacle. I can tell you all about the pieces of furniture, exactly where everything was located, what the furnishings were made of, the types of fabrics they used, etc.

But today as I explained the connection between the OT and NT to my precious 8 year old children, it really hit me. What would it have been like to be an Israelite thousands of years ago? To have been slaves in Egypt for 400 years and watch God miraclousy free you. To be caught in a terrible cycle of sin and regret. To sacrifice animals for your sins, yet it never really clear your conscience. To not be allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, but to have to send the High Priest in for you. To sit outside the Tabernacle, hoping forgiveness would come. Hoping your offering would be pleasing to God. Hoping it would be enough.

Sacrifice after sacrifice, day after day, year after year...it was never enough. The law required blood, because blood signified death. And death showed that some price had been paid for the sin. I can't imagine the remorse, the guilt, and helplessness they must have felt as they wandered and hoped that a better way would come. A more reliable attonement. A true forgiveness.

I closed out the lesson by playing the song "Take Me In" It is one I have heard over and over again, and often skip when playing my AD album. But today tears were brought to my eyes, as I sang the simple lyrics with my kids:

Take me into the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me into the holy of holies
Take the coal, touch my lips, here I am

Take me past all the people, past the altars, even past the priests. I want rightousness. I want God's presence. I stand in awe of a God who provided a better way. A better sacrfice. A better Savior. Hallelujah!

February Update

February was an extremely busy (and somewhat stressful month). Kinda bizarre since it is so short and the 1st week we were on semester break from school. I spent that whole week grading projects, meeting up with friends, and attending 2 teacher inservice days. At the end of it all I felt like I needed a vacation. And the 3 weeks of February that I was in school was craziness...I started these new Reading Centers with my kids, which has been great but means a lot more planning and grading on my part. Plus one of my TAs (a parent) has been out for the whole month, I didn't realize how much I depend on her help. Needless to say my weekends have been very important and at times, my saving grace. It is crucial for me to have time away from school. The best weekend by far was the weekend of Valentines' Day, and it wasn't because I have some love interest :) Friday I went over to some girlfriend's house for a delicious dinner and a movie. I was able to see some girls I hadnt seen in a very long time and it was great to catch up. Saturday evening was the High School Hoedown at my school. I went last year and helped teach a few dances, and was looking forward to going again. Let me just say that it was a blast! You all know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE to dance and I dont get many opportunities here (except in my apartment) to dance. And you probably also know that I LOVE to teach people new dances and get them all into it. So I just had to teach the Hannah Montana dance to Hoedown Throwdown. It was simply amazing.

And then on Sunday after church a few friends went over to Chili's for lunch. It was delicious as always, and the manager said, "Well hello again Jules, I see you more than my family!" He is the one from NCSU. I loved all the fun Valentine's decorations around the city!