this morning – for the last time ever this week – i woke up, dragged drug hauled myself out of bed, roused three kids – one of them a teenager who isn’t keen on rousing – got us all out the door and to the school plenty early for any and all last minute setups required for today’s holiday bible club craft. holiday bible club is the same thing as vacation bible school – i’m not sure exactly why the difference in names, but replacing the word school with the word club certainly makes it sound more fun.
a12 and s9 attended – it’s a12’s last year. next year she can be signed up by her mom to willingly volunteer. c15 would tell her that it’s the best! since the kids were all involved i figured i might as well be, too. and since someone asked if i would head up crafts i figured i might as well say, “yes” and i smiled when i said it. that yes could have also been caused by the fact that i have difficulties saying no. even when i’m thinking “no” the word that come out is “yes”. it doesn’t always work out so well for me.
the church we’re at creates their own holiday bible club from the ground up. no box kit for them. a theme is decided on, someone writes a script, actors are procured and rehearsals happen, songs are dug up that fit the theme and interest the kids, a games director comes up with games that can be played inside and out – since it is rainy season, shirts are designed and made, snacks are provided and, of course, crafts are essential.
this year the theme was rock’n'roll roller coaster. it was about the life of peter and his many ups and downs. throughout the week tons of material was covered from Jesus calling the disciples through the crucifixion and resurrection. and my job was to develop 5 crafts for 150 kids ranging in age from 5 – 12 (oh, with the last minute addition of 3 & 4 year olds) each day that would reinforce what they’d learned, entertain them, and keep them busy for 12 hours 45 minutes. 45 minutes is an eternity when it comes to occupying kids with string, beads, paint, paper and glue. here’s a basic run down of what we did – because i am sort of impressed with how well everything turned out i feel the need to share.
- monday – Jesus called the disciples to be fisher of men. our craft was creating fishing nets from netting, yarn and beads. the toothpick idea i mentioned here worked well. there were a few minor issues, but it turned out okay.
- tuesday – Jesus helped peter walk on water. we painted hand towels. we marble painted the water onto the bottom half of the towel and then stencilled on fish and a boat.
- wednesday – peter denied Jesus. Jesus was crucified and resurrected. pick up your cross and follow me. we made seed bead safety pin pins. this one i was worried about.
- thursday – peter became the rock. which required rocks to be painted.
- friday – peter reminisces about his life. we made scrolls using saa paper. the kids discussed the week in their groups and then drew pictures or wrote about the week and what they remembered best.
i was very happy that i heard no complaining about the crafts. no “do i have to do this?” or “this is stupid” type comments. and i was quite glad to not come across any abandoned crafts as i was leaving each day. and everyday i came home and practiced saying, “no, i do not want to do that.” i swear i’ll remember if they ask again next year.
i would love to have had some pictures to share, but our camera is in uganda with michael. lucky camera.
meant to post this yesterday, but our internet is being funky. we show that we’re connected, but it’s so slow. too slow to actually bring up any pages. but what i was gonna say yesterday was…
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MICHAEL!!
17 amazing years.
i’ve just returned from a lovely no-kids-nor-husbands invited few days away. our escape getaway started in the cutest toy plane ever
and we sat closer to the pilot and copilot than i thought was possible.
the flight was only 25 minutes. and, for those of you who might be wondering (dad) yes, we could have taken a bus. and, yes, it would have cost less baht. but it’s a 4 hour drive on a road that has 700 or so curves and would have guaranteed that at least one – and most likely both – of us would have needed a barf bag. or 20. which we hear the are kind enough to hand out by the handfull as you board. and had we ridden the bus we would have missed this runway.
and a very cute toy airport that exists solely for the toy plane we flew on.
once we arrived in pai we quickly settled into our own personal paradise.
which came with some lovely views and two of the most adorable neighbors.
we wandered into town for a late lunch, enjoyed a cup of perfect – at least that’s what the slogan at the coffee shop claimed – and then returned to our bungalow for a little peace and quiet.
a relaxing time was had by all. at least the two of us who were away.
today wasn’t as productive as i would have liked for it to be, but it wasn’t a total loss, either.
i didn’t manage to find the rocks for the rock painting craft for next week – but i did find out where i can get them. i also didn’t come up with needles for the fishing net craft – but i have maybe thunk up a better way for 200 kids to run a piece of yarn through a square of netting. instead of having them all thread a needle, keep the thread on the needle, not drop the needle, not break the needle, etc… i’m thinking of using toothpicks and taping the thread to the toothpick. conceptually i think it could work. but there could be a problem with the tape getting caught on the netting. or the toothpicks having splinters, or the toothpicks breaking… so, i’m still sorting that one out.
however, there are things i did get done. i did purchase 25 meters (that’s metric, i’m so acclimatized) of netting that now needs to be cut into 200 squares. and i did manage to find beads for stringing along the yarn for those fishing net crafts. and c15 and i did mananage to get our photos taken (someone’s having a good laugh) for our visas to visit india. and we made it to the indian consulate to apply for said visas. and i’ve procured 2 backpacks for us to use while we are in india.
tomorrow i’m hoping to get the rocks. find some yarn and toothpicks. i need to price and maybe purchase 200 pillow cases, a lot of saa paper, some pens and construction paper/origami paper for the craft that’s either going to be weaving fish or origami-ing fish. and i need to come up with one more craft – seeing as how i’m one short.
and, just so you can have a good laugh, too. here’s my visa photo – you know, the photo that should maybe subtly hint at what a lovely and kind person i am. the one that goes along with the application asking permission to allow me to visit india and shouldn’t cause them to question my sanity or wonder how i managed to so cleanly photoshop my prisoner id numbers out of the picture.
this time last year the summer loomed in front of us. a tortuously long summer with no idea what we would do with ourselves. we did have that trip to penang to be excited about – we were wrong to be so excited. but this summer! this summer i can’t even think of the goings on we’ve got going on. this week will be all about holiday bible club – hbc is just a fancy name for vbs - preparation. but that preparation time is going to be slightly interrupted by a 2 night/3 day girl trip to pai. we leave wednesday and get home friday. saturday there are meetings to attend and a 17 year anniversary to squeeze in… oh, and i start single parenting it again. i’ve been a bit spoiled. michael’s been home 3 weeks. 3 whole weeks.
the next week will be holiday bible club. monday through friday every morning. i hear there are like 200 kids and i’m heading up the crafts. should keep me busy.
the following thursday c15 and i get on a plane for india. india. i can’t believe we’re going to india. 10 days there and then the states! texas and colorado. friends and family. and we’ll probably discover 4 weeks is not enough time. especially since that 4 weeks might have to last us another 3 years.
if i believed in to do lists – or rather if i were capable of making one and keeping it – i would have to include get visas for india (c15 and me). get reentry permits for kids and me – so we can return to thailand. locate backpacks for c15 and me. pack for all of us. and all that intails… i’m trying not to think about what that could be. and – because it’s not going to do itself – get the stuff for hbc crafts. but it is sort of cool that once i get it it will sort of magically get sorted and prepared. and by magically i mean all those hbc helpers will do what i didn’t finish while i’m gone!
busy summer ahead, but sure beats a boring summer stretching out into eternity.
i’ve moved on from the talking of thai to the readin’ and writin’ of it. but right now it’s not so much reading it or writing actual words. right now i’m working through the learnin’ of the alphabet. it’s no easy task. there are way more letters than i think are really necessary. 44 consonants!! really? and 2 of those are obsolete – but i still have to learn them? nutz. and many of them make the exact same sound. exact same. and which one you use depends on where it falls in the word. it would be like having two different letter ks. and for the word kite you would use one, but for the word park you would use a different one. even though they sound just the same. and it’s not just 2 letters that sound the same, in some cases it’s 3 or 4. i won’t even go into the three classes the consonants are separated into. because i’m not really sure exactly how that plays into the whole reading thing. but i do know it’s important.
consonants
and 32 vowels. 32?? you know how in english we learn the 5 vowels (and sometimes a 6th vowel – depending on how you feel about y) and we learn they can sound many different ways depending on what’s going on in the word. you know, an added e in the word makes the vowel sound one way. or two of the same vowel together make the vowel sound another way, etc, etc. they’ve avoided the need for those kind of rules, because they have an entirely different set of rules that involve a different vowel for any situation. there’s a final consonant? then use this vowel. there’s no final consonant? then use that vowel. it’s a long vowel? then you need this vowel. oh, it’s a short vowel? then this is the vowel you should use.
vowels
as of today, i’ve been taught all the letters, but i haven’t memorized them all just yet. i’m really close though. in the next week or so i should move on to the putting together of the letters to form words. if my head doesn’t explode first.
the past few posts haven’t even mentioned our oldest. and there’s very good reason for that. he’s been away. and i’m sort of an out of sight out of mind the blog kind of girl. the entire 8th grade went on a two night – three day field trip to doi inthanon. they returned today. i’ve heard very little – other than it was fun. and that they hit all the hot spots we missed when we went. but thank God for facebook, because i did manage to steal a pic from one of his friend’s pages.
i find it incredibly funny that all but one of these kids – the one with the arrow pointing at her head – is swimming fully clothed. wonder if they took their shoes off? c15 is in the green shirt with his name on the back of it.
attend elementary school play can now be ticked off the to-do list.
lovely play today. short (that alone makes it almost perfect) and sweet. a12 had a starring role. with lots of lines. and she got to wear a head mic. (which is really quite amazing seeing as how just a few (3?) short years ago she had such horrid stage fright she cried for several hours after the performance. even though she was at the very back of the stage and in the chorus and you had to sort of strain to see her.) and s9 had a supporting role. with a speaking part. he’ll tell you it was just one line, but i say, there are no small parts…
the play was about an unhappy king leo and his two subjects/friends who set out to discover the key to happiness and bring it back for the king. they talk to many singing and dancing animals groups (packs? herds?) the hyenas being the best group. and not just because s9 was one.
in the end the key to happiness was discovered. it’s not partying with the party animals or playing video games with the monkeys or even laughting with the hyenas. it’s friends and taking time to smell the flowers. i have no idea what smart animals knew this, but they were obviously the sensitive type, and they had red paw prints on their cheeks.
that’s me. or rather it’s my upper thigh and lower torso. what isn’t totally obvious in this picture is that i’m wet. soaking wet – from the chin down. and i’m fully dressed, but that is a little more obvious than the wet part. how does one manage to get soaking wet when chaperoning a field trip? it’s really pretty easy.
today, the 6th graders – that’s a12’s grade – went to tweechol botanical gardens. it’s a beautiful park. a real tropical paradise. see…
*if you’ve been hanging around here very long it might look a little familiar*
this park has it all. a pool, bikes, paddle boats, swings and slides… there was no shortage of things to do. and the kids were free to do what they wanted, when they wanted. none of us adult types where gonna tell them when to eat, or that it was time for this or time for that. today’s chaperoning task was to make sure they all made it to the park and back to the school in one piece. easy peasy.
the paddle boats proved to be very popular early in the day. and once a few kids went out, the rest followed suit.
i suppose it’s possible that maybe we should have taken note when the first two out ended up in this situation. but we put it off to a tiny bit of naughtiness and were glad they’d gotten that out of their system. silly us.
you’re probably thinking, “there’s really only one thing this level of craziness can lead to.” sure wish we’d had the foresight to think that.
and this is how i ended up soaking wet. in the end, the paddle boat was uprighted, paddled back to the dock and the water bailed out.
did i mention we were only about 2 hours into a 6 hour field trip at this point? and that i hadn’t brought a change of clothes?
the rest of the day was quite lovely. swimming and lunch. more bike riding and flower looking. and then back to the school with only 2 1/2 days before summer vacation.
i’ve always thought the whole new math thing was, for the most part, an american mistake phenomenon. turns out i was wrong. and not only was i wrong, i think they’re actually trying to make it newer.
