We have been learning and having so much fun in the 5th grade and I am so thankful for each and every student and the unique challenges, blessings, and opportunities they bring to my classroom and to me. There are struggles (how do you differentiate math when you have some students ready for high school algebra and some still learning number sense?) and blessings (prayer time is so amazing when each child shares their heart for the country that they come from) and every single student teaches me something every day.
Last week the 4th and 5th grade students greeted the ambassador to Kosovo when he came to speak at ICSV. They were able to share with him two songs praising God! They did a fantastic job and were very excited to perform!
 |
| The Ambassador (on the left) |
 |
| The 4th and 5th grade choir :-) |
We have also been loving the opportunity to get to know the second graders better through an activity called "Book Buddies". Every Friday we are visited by the second grade class and each student has a special buddy that they talk and read to. It's so cool watching them help their buddies. We also got to visit the second grade art show on Friday (see goingunderthmercy.blogspot.com for pictures of that event!) and present award certificates. Take a look at the book buddies below!
 |
| The fifth grader on the left has a brilliant imagination. He's from Hungary and he recently wrote his book buddy from South Korea a fantastic story about a ship wreck! |
 |
| I'm so proud of the fifth grader on the right! Her parents are missionaries from America and her buddy is an adorable Iranian girl who just started learning English this summer! It's a challenge helping her to understand the book but this awesome girl is up to it! |
 |
| My super sweet cuddly Dutch student loves helping her buddy (from the Philippines) |
 |
| Mauritas, America, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia all sharing a couch and learning together! These girls are all so sweet. |
 |
| These girls are so sweet. The fifth grader on the right has a heart of gold. Pray for wisdom as I help her with reading and writing. She didn't begin school until second grade due to a teacher's strike in Zimbabwe and so she needs a lot of help learning to express herself! |
 |
| The boy on the left is one of the most caring student's I've ever met. He works very hard in reading and writing and comes to life when he has the opportunity to help others. |
 |
| The awesome boy on the left is the star of half of my funny stories. He's brilliant and very funny and is always up to something interesting with the Hungarian boy at the top. His buddy is very mischievous and you can read all about his adventures in my roommate Sarah's blog. |
I'm so excited to share pictures with you of my students! I can't post their names along with their pictures but I'm excited to tell you stories about them and share what we are doing!
One more funny story (I WISH I had pictures!) On Friday I received a package with lots of American goodies inside from my parents. The kids were losing it with cheers when they saw each treat (seriously if you ever want to do something fun and nice you can send us American candy...it's like gold here!). But the real exciting moment was when we took the ABSURD amount of bubble wrap and laid it all over the floor after pushing our desks out of the way and then had a 2 minute popping party! It was adorable (and loud) and we laughed very hard!
Thank you all so much for your prayers! These kids come from a lot of backgrounds and some of them have situations in their countries or families that are out of their hands. It's such a blessing to be able to pray with them and intercede for them. This week as you pray could you pray for their countries and families? They come from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Hungary, The Netherlands, South Korea, America, and Austria. We covet your prayers!!!
In Christ,
Amy
