Grade-R is GROWING
Over this past month, we have come so far in Grade R! We
have been continuing on with our alphabet, letter sounds, numbers, shapes and
colors as well as a new topic - health and nutrition. As mentioned before, many
of my students come to school with chips in their hands and a “stick sweet”
(also known as a lollipop) in their mouths.
As most of you can assume, Miss Shade is not okay with such
eating habits while being at school. And although I know I cannot change their
home lifestyle or culture, I can at least attempt to PROMOTE better eating
while they are in my presence within the classroom.
Along with the healthy snacks and nutrition talks, we also
discussed the importance of growing plants and vegetables. We talked about how
plants need three things to survive: water, air & sun. And last, we discussed how important it is to
take care of our earth and why plants are so important. To better help my
students understand, we got our hands dirty and planted our own seeds!
Most children at such a young age are unable to understand
how you can plant a little brown seed into the dirt and a few days later have a
green leaf coming out of the ground, so to better help them understand, we
started off by constructing our very own little greenhouses. This would allow
my students to watch the germination process and see the changes that occur
each day. Inside the greenhouses, we placed wet cotton balls and a few bean
seeds. We then sealed off the baggie and hung it on the window so it could get
sunlight.
Sure enough, 7 days later we began to see the roots
sprouting from the seeds and stems beginning to form!
After watching our greenhouses grow for a week and having a
better concept of what really happens under the ground, we each planted our own
pumpkin seeds!
Not even five days later, we began to see the little plants
pushing through the dirt. The children were so excited when their very own
pumpkin plant began to grow.
We plan to transplant our little seedlings into the ground
within the next week and hopefully have an abundance of pumpkins to paint and
carve by the fall time here!
PB&J FRIDAY
About five weeks ago, I decided to start a program within my
class known as PB&J Friday. I created PB&J Friday in hopes to send my
students home from school on a Friday afternoon with a full tummy, not knowing
exactly how much food is available for them at home. Every Friday I take a loaf
of brown bread, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly to school and we all
make our own peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Most of my students devour it
before I even finish making mine, but some actually put them in their bags and
take them home with them for later in the weekend!
OUR NEW STUDENT
As many of you know, when I started teaching here in
September, I only had eight students. About a month ago, we received a new
student in our class. His name is Tino and he is fitting in so well with the
other students! Tino will be returning to Grade R with me again next January
when school begins.
Overall, I feel as if we have made leaps and bounds within
the Grade R classroom; our academics, our English, our manners and just the
overall feeling of love within the class and between the students. Looking
ahead, we only have approximately three weeks left of school until we close for
summer break. We will be closing on December 9th, 2015 and we will
open again on January 13th, 2016. Even though I will not get to
spend Christmas with these little guys, I still have some exciting things
planned to do with them – stay tuned!
[Its currently the rainy season here, which means BUG SEASON! Yes, this is my student Olwethu EATING BUGS straight from the ground. These are known as izalukazana, or flying ants!]
Lily of The Valley Children’s Village
As most of you know, I have been spending a lot of my weekends and off time at a partner organization known as Lily of the Valley. For those of you who dont know about Lily, it is a non-profit organization created to help AIDS infected and affected children and their communities. To learn more about this organization, feel free to check out their newly updated webpage:
Coming into my year overseas, I knew that the holiday season would probably be one of the hardest times for me. With this being my first Thanksgiving/Christmas away from my home and family, I wanted to find a way to not only make it something memorable for myself, but most importantly the children at Lily of The Valley Orphange.
Over the past few weeks, I have been fundraising and planning for the upcoming Christmas Holiday at Lily of the Valley Childrens Village. With there being just shy of 120 children at the village currently, preperation and planning needed to start early! Setting my initial goal amount at $800.00, I have been able to go above and beyond this amount - THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!
Feel free to check out my page and see what has already been done and what can still be done to reach my NEW GOAL of $1,500.00!
Once school closes here at Hope Valley Farm School, I plan to go to Lily of The Valley where I will spend my Holiday season until my parents arrive on January 1st, 2016!
THE HORIZON
THE HORIZON
Sitting here writing this post, I cannot believe that I am already three months into my assignment and have only three weeks left in the school term until summer break!
From Decemeber 14th - Decemeber 19th, I will have a retreat on the beach in Durban with the South African team and other volunteers.
On Decemeber 20th, I plan to go to Lily of The Valley Childrens Village where I will spend my Christmas with all the little orphans!
On January 1st, 2016, my mom and dad will be arriving in Johannesburg where I will meet them and we will get to spend two weeks together!
The new school year will begin on January 13th, 2016 and I will meet all my new students!
Words cannot begin to explain how thankful I am for the endless love and support that has been sent my way. I would not be enjoying this experience as much as I am if it werent for everyones kind words of wisdom and prayers.
Peace and love to all ♡
Allison Shade
Allison Shade
"There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living."
