Hello,
Wow! What a year we have had! I would like to take this time to re cap our year!
Teaching Fifth grade this year has been an adventure! My major project this year was building the stage. My students designed, budgeted, and built it with two different work teams. My students used math skills, Language Arts, Science, and Art to accomplish this feat! They are truly amazing kids!
Our final project as a Fifth grade class was to build an immigration museum. The kids each had their own"rooms" (seperated by sheets) and talked about the lives, hopes, and dreams of immigrants to America in the late 1800's, early 1900's. My goal in teaching them about immigration was to encourage them to understand the similarities between Dominican immigration to the U.S. and Haitian immigration to the Dominican Republic. Both immigrants seek a better life. I hope my students have stepped away from this experience and finally understood what prejudices and harsh circumstances Haitians face and decide to change not only their own attitudes, but also those of their family, friends, and community.
I am especially proud of one accomplishment this year! At the beginning of this year I would ask my students, "How do you go to Heaven?" I recieved the general gamut of answers ranging from "I don't know." to "By dying, of course!" Mostly, my students would say by being good, by doing good things. I spent much of this year trying to teach them about Jesus, about what he did on the cross for us. At the end of the year, I asked my students to write me a letter about what they had learned. I was suprised and brought to tears by their response. Many wrote things like I learned to do fractions or how to write a paragraph well. However, many wrote "I learned that Jesus loves me, and he died on the cross for me. He is the way to Heaven."
Sometimes, between adjusting to Dominican culture, worrying about grades, expeditions, projects, my students' home lives, and completing the curriculum, I get lost. I forget why I am in the Dominican Republic. I am their to impact people for Christ. If I taught my kids nothing else this year, I hope they know how much their Savior loved/loves them.
Thank you for your prayers and loving support,
Mo&C
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Sounds like you had an awesome year! I can't wait to hear more! Call me now that you are back! I need to talk to my Ci! Miss you like crazy!
P.S. Don't forget we are having a big cookout at my mom's house on the 4th. I hope you and Mark can make it up that weekend even if you can't make it for the bbq. Oh and for a little extra incentive, Jen and Andrew will also be in town and at the bbq! And of course so will Renee!
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