Teeth Brush and Finding Prince Charming

Sometimes, my kids write such cute stories, I just need to share them with everyone. Please keep in mind that both authors are still learning English. :) 

Teeth Brush

By: A Fourth Grader

       I know to brush teeth. It's easy. You brush the sides really fast and hard. Then you do it to the front of them and the back.

      My friend did not brush his teeth, and now he doesn't have teeth. He didn't brush his teeth everyday.

      My other friend washed his teeth really nicely and has really strong teeth. My mom's teeth are really good, because they are not broken. She did wash them.

Cinderella Finds Prince Charming

By: Another Fourth Grader

Once upon a time there were four people. Those four people were in a ballroom dancing, but then a cat came and took Prince Charming. No one knew what happened to him. Cinderella tried to find him. She asked all the people, but the people said, “no” always “no”.

               Then the king said to everybody, “Prince Charming is going to come on stage and tell us a story.” The king called Prince Charming, “Are you coming or not?” No one responded to the king. The king was waiting for five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes but he did not come.

               Then Cinderella asked the Fairy Godmother, “Can you please give me your wand. Because I can do magic with it. Because I have to find Prince Charming.”

               So Fairy Godmother said, “Ok, you may have my wand. They wanted and always do eight wishes.”

               So Cinderella said, “Ok. Thank you for the wand.”

               “Remember that when the eight wishes are gone, call me and I will be there.”

               So Cinderella said, “But what is the magic word? What is the magic word?” But at that time the fairy godmother had went away. She had to wonder for a little bit. And the guessed it and it was “Cinderella”.

               So she said, “I wish I could find where Prince Charming was.” The wand brought her to Prince Charming. Cinderella said, “The cat has got him.” Prince Charming was all with rope around him. Cinderella said to the cat, “Can I please have Prince Charming back?”

               But the cat said to Cinderella, “No.”

               So Cinderella said to the wand, “I wish the cat was frozen and the rope was not tied.” So then everything was back to normal. So they danced and Prince Charming told the story.

 

 

The Three Little Pigs: The Wolf's Story

We have been doing a unit study on "The Three Little Pigs". We've compared different versions of the story, and read the story from several different viewpoints. One of my kiddos' assignments was to write the story from the wolf's view, telling why it was not their fault. I thought they were too cute not to share. :)

"I will tell you why it is not my fault. Once upon a time, there were three little pigs. The first little pig made his house out of chalk. The second little pig made his house out of glue and pepper. The third little pig made his house out of bricks. So, then I was walking and I smelled chalk, so I sneezed. Then I walked again, and I smelled a house out of glue and pepper that made me sneeze. Then I finally walked again, and I did not smell anymore smell of pepper or chalk. So, it was not my fault. Next time, have a better idea."

"Once upon a time there were three little pigs building their own houses. The first pig is building a straw house. The second pig is building a house out of sticks, and the third one is building one out of bricks. They were next to each other. Then the wolf heard about the three little pigs. He went to the first house. He needed medicine. He said, "Can I come inside?" The wolf the blew the house down. The pig wasn't even there. The he went to the second pig's house. The wolf said, "Can I come inside?" Then he blew it down. The second pig wasn't there. The three pigs were in the third little pig's house. He went and asked"Can I have medicine?" (note:I'm not sure what happens next. It's a cliff hanger. Does the wolf get his medicine? Is he left out in the cold? Who knows...)

 

Salt and Light: Don't Forget the Mission

Don't forget the mission...

Was I starting Bible studies with Czechs or building meaningful relationships with my neighbors and was I fluent in Czech yet...

The questions caught me off guard and then the conversation finished with "Don't forget the mission." In answer to the questions, no, no (that would require seeing my neighbors and we all seem to keep very different schedules), working on it, and I haven't. I haven't forgotten the mission at all.

I remember why I am here every morning as I walk into my classroom. I'm reminded as we meet for devotions or prayer times as a staff and implore God to send us more students. I'm reminded as I've had students talk about how they know their teachers care because we do a job where we don't get paid.

And every time I see the brokenness around me, I have to fight to remind myself the reason. I see the darkness that engulfs this city, hear the statistics of how the Czech Republic is the 3rd worst slave state in Europe. I walk past people shooting heroin on the way to work and witness the man passed out on the tram, an empty wine box at his feet. And my heart breaks again. And again I have to fight to remind myself why I am here.

Because I'm not here to plant churches. As much as I want to fight human trafficking, that is not my primary reason for being here. I'm not in this country to start Bible studies with Czechs or to mentor my neighbors. Does that mean I don't want to be a part of these things? No, these are good things, noble things, honorable and right. But I am not the one God has called for that. (Not to say I would reject the chance to do any of those things if they come up, but they aren't ministries I seek out.)

Saying I'm a missionary to the Czech Republic is not necessarily the best terminology. Perhaps it is better to say I am a missionary IN the Czech Republic.

Because the people group I work with are not Czech. It is also equally right to say they are not Americans or Canadians or Korean or Italian or Polish. They are a crazy mix of cultures...a people group where conversations are effortlessly carried on in a mixture of languages (when I coached middle school volleyball, half of my practice was in Korean because a majority of my team was Korean and they would get so excited about things that they would start talking away...in Korean). They love peanut butter just as much as they love trdelnik or Kimbop or fresh tortillas. They speak with authority on the best airports and airlines and carry on conversations with topics ranging from "when I lived in ______ country" to "when my family was visiting _______ country". They know their way around jet lag better than most adults. They are adaptable...and always, always facing change.

And I'm in this country for THEM. They are Third Culture Kids (TCKs) or Global Nomads, as some prefer to be called. Kids who have spent significant amounts of time outside their passport countries (which is probably not their "home" even if mom and dad call it home). Some of them are multi-ethnic, with parents from one or more countries. Some have spent most of their life in their passport country. Some have only left their passport countries in the past few years. Some have never even lived there at all.

They are incredible and amazing. And I'm here for them. To be a stable person in a very unstable world.

I'm here to be Jesus to them. By the light switch in our staff bathroom, someone posted "Be salt. Be light." That's what I am. Salt and light. I'm here to be the person who is here for my missionary kids--someone who is called specifically for them. To be Jesus to them, while their parents are doing what God has called them to do. And I love being a partner in ministry with them.

But I'm also here to be salt and light for my kids who do not come from families that know Jesus. And I have fallen in love with this role as well. I have had students walk into my room who knew nothing about how much God loves them, and I've gotten to tell them! For the first time. As much as I love the light that comes on when a student understand an academic concept (I am a teacher after all), I love even more when I see the light come on about a spiritual idea. Remembering when one of my students told me as she was leaving, "Don't be sad, Miss Miller. I know now God will be with me at my new school." And I got to be the first one to tell her that.

Salt and light. I remember why I'm here. Salt and light. I'm their salt and light in a busy world, a dark world. I'm here for them. Salt and light. 

I haven't forgotten the mission after all.

Endings and Memories

It's the beginning and ending of the year that always flies by for me. Meanwhile, the time in between manages to drag by slowly. Then, May comes and leaves almost as quickly. Next thing I know I'm hugging my kids one last time, wishing them all a happy summer and saying goodbyes to those who are leaving (or else trying to remain in denial that they are, indeed, leaving).

I read a blog recently (you can read it here: Why Expats Hate June) that does a wonderful job of explaining the dreaded goodbyes. My students say that so much--to family, to friends, to teachers, to classmates. In just this year, my class had to say it to two fellow classmates. But if I focused on the goodbyes, I would never be able to enjoy the good times, the walks around the city, the movie nights, the lunches and dinners spent laughing. Or the amazing times with students. Or the incredible times of worship together. So, while I do recommend reading that blog if you would like to know what my coworkers, students, and I go through every single June, I instead what to savor the memories of good and wonderful times.

Water Fights

"Candy" Awards Voted on by Classmates

Wonderful Dinner Cruises

Beloved Coworkers (and Former Coworker)

"On a good day, enjoy yourself; On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won’t take anything for granted."

Ecclesiastes 7:14, The Message

Facial Hair, Food, Field Trips, and Fun

10th Year Anniversary Time Capsule Project
For the 10th Anniversary, each class took a different year from the school history and create a project showing that year. 4th grade did a balloon tree for ours.

Drawing all the students from our year on the balloons

This required quite a bit of concentration

Preparing to be traffic directors for history class--to protect our tree

The Balloon Tree

Fourth Grade Plays with Our Food

Food Art for the Art Show

History Class Facial Hair Fun

They used scraps from a project to make beards and mustaches.

And were quite thrilled to pose for me.

 1st-4th Grade Field Trip to the Zoo

Pointing out the Red Panda

My awesome boys

Love their craziness

Having fun on the slide by the polar bears

Looking at the hippos

The Giraffes

I found a new friend for all my bearded students

Cooling Off

I've had a great year with these kids

Fun trip to end the year with

Oceans

A song has been running through my mind quite often in past months. And in some ways, it almost seems to be the story that God has been writing in my life over the past three years. Then a friend from college posted another version of it (one I think is now my favorite). There it was again--the idea that this life that I live is not my life, that even on the hardest day (although, to be honest, today was actually quite a wonderful day), there is a reason I am here.

Three Years Ago:

 You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail...

And I will call upon Your name

Through floods, loss, grief, and the hardest of days:

Your grace abounds in deepest waters

Trusting His love and provision:

 My soul will rest in Your embrace

13 Different Nationalities in 6 Years of Teaching:

 Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me

 Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

I am Yours and You are mine 

"Oceans" by Hillsong United

Spring Concert

On Saturday we had our annual spring concert, including scripture recitations from the 1-4 graders, songs from the elementary students, elementary choir, and high school, and dramas by the middle school drama students. Everyone did a wonderful job!

I thought it was quite funny however when my fourth graders began to complain about "being forced to work on a Saturday".  So, I asked them what they thought I was doing.

"But that's different," One of them replied, "You're a grown-up. Your supposed to do that."

There you have it, folks. Being a grown-up means we're supposed to work on weekends!

 

High School Choir

Reciting Psalm 23

Elementary Choir

Middle School Drama

What Will You Be Doing in 10 Years?

It's CISP's tenth year, so we've been doing a lot of celebrating all year. On the 10th of each month, we have a Dress Nice Day (actually, they call it dress up day, but my kids thought at first that meant a dress in costumes day, so to clear up the confusion, I call it Dress Nice Day). There are plans in the works for our 10 Year Celebration Weekend in June. The staff have been sampling different cakes for the end of the year (most of the have been absolutely delicious!). And every class has been taking a turn decorating the bulletin board just outside our main office.

March is 4th grade's turn to do this. Since all my kiddos are 1) already 10 or 2) will be turning 10 this year, I thought it would be fun for them to think about what they will be doing in 10 years.

I knew this project would take a bit of work. I did not, however, imagine it would take the entire morning. Alas, I soon discovered that when you're ten, it is very hard to imagine what life might be like in a decade. Then again, it's not very surprising either. At this point, a decade IS a lifetime to them. They are also quite the indecisive bunch. One student complained, "Miss Miller, I'm just TOO imaginative! I don't know what I want to do! There are so many choices."

As they've worked on this project, I've noticed two things: 1) They are very creative and 2) They don't seem to realize that a majority of the next 10 years will be spent finishing their elementary and secondary educations. But aside from that minor detail, like I said, they are certainly creative. So, here are just a few of 4th grade's 10 year aspirations:

In 2024, I will be 19 years old. I will be a soccer player and in the army, but I'm going to be really old at that time. I might be a dancer like mhmhmmhmmhmmmm Michael Jackson auo! or a film character like James Bond or a rock star ta tou ga tu di!!!  

(I asked about the colorful teeth, and with an expression that clearly said that it was obvious and my question was ridiculous, student answered, "It's a mouth guard, Miss Miller." You must read this story out loud, with the sound effects, while also acting it out. Do it. I dare you.)

In 10 years I will be 20 years old. When I'm 20 years old, I will be in the army, or I will be a hockey player. 

(I'm fairly certain they don't allow Mohawks in the army, but maybe they'll change that policy in ten years.)

In 2024, I will be a hockey player. I might also be a soccer player.

(This student was very insistent that he would be playing hockey for the Czech Republic in 10 years. I feel obligated to mention that none of my boys are actually Czech.)

Somehow, I didn't get a picture of the illustration for the next story. However, it is probably my favorite. It's a good one. Read and enjoy. :)

In 2024, I will be 20 years old (I was born on the same year as CISP started). I will be running my megafarm. A megafarm has fields of wheat, barley, yeast, corn, hay, beets, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, sugar cane, bamboo, and cocoa beans.. I would have a zoo with every animal that isn't in a farm.
I would have 100 henhouses with 150 chickens per house, 200 acres of pasture for my 200,000 cows, 199 acres for my 2,000 horses, and a 60-square-yard pen for my 150 pigs.
I would also have a forest and a mine. My megafarm can make anything that has been invented (not to mention inventions I would be working on). My megafarm could do almost anything. 

I love their creativeness and inventiveness. I love their crazy imaginations and sometimes wild ideas. I love the fact that at one point yesterday I had to step out of my classroom to regain my composure because they were just so funny. I love that I get to teach these kids. They are a pretty awesome group.

Iditarod Fun

I was browsing Pinterest a few weeks ago, as I often do, and noticed that many of the teacher boards I follow were pinning ideas about the Iditarod. Now, who doesn't love the story of Balto (historical accuracy aside, of course)? So, I decided to look up the starting date. When I realized that it started the first weekend of March and there fore hadn't started yet, I immediately knew that this was something my students would follow this year.

I presented them with what the race was, had them choose a Musher (racer) to follow, and they ate it up. We've also successfully tied this into Language Arts, as they have practiced reading comprehension skills, researching skills, biography writing (after researching their musher), comparing and contrasting (comparing and contrasting two different mushers), and now friendly letters (to the third graders about what they have learned about the Iditarod). One of my favorites was the banners they made to cheer on their mushers.

So, here is a glimpse of fourth grade's Iditarod Unit (which is still on going, since the Mushers are still racing):

One of the banners

Every morning we check on their mushers.

Musher Biographies and Pictures

Iditarod Inspired Reading

Life Lately

Some months it seems like not much is happening. Other months is seems as if life is rushing by, barely giving me a chance to breath. February always seems like one of those months. So, here is a little glimpse of life in Prague recently:

Lovely Elementary Teachers at Winter Banquet

Although we can sometimes be goofy

4th and 5th Grade with my cousin's Flat Stanley Project

Showing her Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge

100th Day Physical Activities--stretching for 100 seconds

100th Day physical activities--Jumping 100 times

 Hanging out Prague's Olympic Park

       Prague Castle in the Background

Cheering for the Czech Republic

Veselé Vánoce

I love Prague at Christmas. All the decorations and the lights and the Christmas markets. Not to mention the roasted almonds covered in sugar.

But what I hate about Prague at Christmas is the darkness. The shortest day of the year falls in December. The days leading up to it are quite depressing. There's nothing quite like getting up for work while it's dark, making your way to school while it's dark, and watching the street lights finally turn off from inside your classroom as you prepare for the day. Only, to then watch the sun set as your get ready for the next day and walk home from school in the dark. Only to realize that it's only 5 pm, and you have a whole night of darkness ahead of you. And when there is daylight, that doesn't necessarily mean there will be sun. Often, the skies are cloudy and gray. No vitamin D here. It's dark, gray, and depressing.

This year for our Christmas concert, my fourth graders memorized several of the verses prophesying about the birth of Christ. Every morning for about a month before hand, we would practice the verses. Every morning for that month leading up to the shortest days of the year, I heard my children proclaiming:

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.

(Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 NIV)

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light." No matter how dark it gets here, the light of the world has come. Even though the days may be short and the dark of night be long, the Light has dawned. That baby in a manger. Who is no longer a baby in a manger. That man on a cross, dead in a grave, is dead no more. The Light has dawned and He lives still. And that once more reminds me why I'm here, to show the Light to those around me who are still walking in darkness. So while I hate the darkness, I have also grown in a small way fond of it, as it serves as a reminder to me of the spiritual darkness of the country in which I live.

So, Merry Christmas. Veselé Vánoce. And remember that the Light has come.