The Next Step

 

About a month ago we met with the community and the headmen in the area to discuss the addition of a primary school to follow the education of the preschool.  We all agreed that for the children and the future of this community, it was best if we come together and build the primary school.  Jako and I were thinking that we might get some of it built this year and hopefully open grade one by 2014, but the school building committee got together quickly and already have a lot of the land cleared where they are going to want to put the school.  The more we thought and prayed about it, the more we think it would be a huge blessing to the children if we are able to complete the first building before this year finishes so that we can open grade 1 in January.  We know that if we send the children elsewhere for a whole year, they will regress in their learning and maybe even loose interest in learning.  The children have come so far this year and are doing so well, we want to continue that for them, providing them with a learning environment that continues to challenge their thinking, expand their minds, and expose them to things they wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to. 

I am asking you all to spread the word, begging those around you to pray for this vision…asking God to provide everything that we will need for this to happen.  We can’t do this alone and greatly appreciate all the prayers and help we can get!! 

 

 

Thank you for your support and encouragement this far, I only pray that you all choose to continue partnering in God’s kingdom here in the villages of Zambia…

Rapia Maningi

 

“Rapia Maningi” means “very hot”…these are the words I have been hearing in the afternoon from the older children describing the slide as they are using it.  Since we used a flat piece of metal to make our slide, it is a prime suspect for heat when the sun is out.  Thankfully, we are in our winter time, so even though the slide is hot, the children are able to use it most days.  I have secretly been worryinh about what we were going to do to create shade for term 3 when our days are regularly over 120 degrees (that is a hot sun).  After coming back from the Reggio conference I was looking for ways to challenge the children and get them thinking more critically and solving problems…at the same time trying to figure out what to do about the slide problem…then it hit me…ask the children!!  And I did…  I asked both of the older classes to help me solve this problem and it has been the beginning of a wonderful study. 

How can we keep our slide from getting so hot??

For the past couple weeks the children have been thinking about ways we can “create shade”, everything from planting trees to building a house over the slide.  The more we have talked about our ideas, drawn them on paper, and even built small 3D versions of them, the more both classes have come to an agreement on how they want to create shade for our slide.  At this point they are planning on getting “poles from the bush” to “build a house” around the slide with a “roof on top”.  One class thinks they only want “four poles around the bottom” with "four poles on the top for support” and the other classes hasn’t yet discussed that part of the process, however, it should be pretty easy for them to agree on the number of poles around the bottom.  The only factor that hasn’t been completely agreed upon is what to make the roof out of…some friends want “grass”, others want “sticks”, some are saying “fibers”, and some are even thinking to put “iron sheets” on the roof to make “shade”. 

This week we are making plans to finish the layout of the “house” and then ask “dads”, “brothers”, “mothers”, and even “grandmothers" to come and help us cut down the poles at the length the children want to build their shade.  So far the children have risen wonderfully to the challenge and are having a lot of fun collaborating on this project and I know that when they finish creating their “shade”, it will be a very proud moment for each child who has participated in the process. 

 

I will be sure to post the final pictures as we move forward in the progress of the project!

No Nshima for a Week?!?!?!?!

 

 

This was the traumatizing thought Medis had leaving the bush to head for South Africa for the Reggio Emilia Conference...how can I survive without nshima for a week??  Medis has never really left the comforts of her village life here near Mukamba...I must say, she was extremely brave leaving her family, her home, her village, and her country with someone she only met a few months ago to a place she has never been before.  Well Medis and I made it to South Africa for our training conference a few weeks ago.  God arranged everything perfectly for us to get there and what a blessing this week and conference were to us. 

 

The conference was held at a private school in Johannesburg and it was the first International Africa Reggio Emilia Alliance Conference, one they hope to have again next year.  They had arranged speakers from all over the world to come and share how their educational programs have been inspired by the philosophy of Reggio Emilia.  The two main speakers came from Reggio Emilia, Italy and shared many amazing stories about their schools and the learning that takes place among children of all ages.  They gave many practical ways on how to expand our thinking as educators, so that we can become more flexible in our thinking when it comes to children and their environment.  Medis was very receptive to all the speakers had to say and she learned a lot about how this philosophy really values to individuality of each child and helps them each reach their own potential inside the classroom learning together.  I was also inspired to challenge the children more in areas of interest to them in order to enhance their learning experience at our school here in the village.  The other speakers from Singapore, Sweden, Ireland, and South Africa showed great examples at how the Reggio philosophy has been implemented into their programs and how rich the process of learning is for the individual children who are impacted by it.  We greatly enjoyed hearing from everyone and we both left feeling very challenged to try and make our program better for the children who are attending it. 

 

 

That being said…I have decided to take some of the personal money I have to build a couple additions onto the school.  The space I have for the children is quite small and I would love to give them more space to use in their learning time at the school.  We have just begun the building process of two smaller rooms on the back of the school.  In the smaller room, we are planning on putting in a light/shadow room, where it will be dark and hopefully build a light table for the children to use to explore light and all its properties.  By doing this, we will also have to put in solar power and we are trusting God will provide as we need for this project!!  The other room is a bit bigger and we are going to transform it into a permanent art studio where we can have all our art supplies on display and shelves for the children’s art work to dry and be put on display.  These two rooms will open up the main area and create ore space for the children to use the materials we have out for them. 

 

Please be in prayer as we are trying a new builder who is giving us a very fair price, but we are unsure of his building quality.  Also pray for the process as we are hoping to start at the end of this term (a couple weeks) and complete it before we open back up in September…that supplies come in, we have finances for it all, and that God is the center of motivation for it all!! 

 

Beads with Moms

 

 

A large part of our school program here at Mission of Love Preschool is to incorporate the parents and community as much as possible by creating ways for them to get involved.  There are several opportunities for the parents to do this; one way is for them to come to school with their children for special art projects and just last week the moms were invited to come.  Medis and I thought it would be a lot of fun for the moms to come and made clay beads with their children, in which the children could paint the beads and make a necklace to give their moms. 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like everyone in the school, we want the moms to feel appreciated and loved by their children and the class.  Each child was given the chance to draw a picture of their mom and then tell the teachers one thing they really enjoy doing with their mom.  After all the children had finished with their art work, we were able to display it on the walls for all the moms and children to look at and admire. 

The moms came to school not knowing what to expect, but had a very joyful attitude about spending time with their children and their friends.  We had to split each class into two groups to fit them around the art table where their creativity would take them away.  While one group of moms and children were busy working together in the art studio, the rest of the moms and children were busy working in other areas of the classroom exploring magnets, puzzles, dolls, cooking, writing, reading, construction, and anything else they could get their hands on. 

           

Over in Art Studio, the table was filled with everything needed for the activity: In the middle of the table was the recipe cards, ingredients, and measuring tools needed to make the clay.  The moms had to work together with each other and their children in order to complete the task at hand…they did an excellent job helping their children along in measuring the flour and salt, then mixing it all together with water.  Once the clay was the exact texture and consistency it needed to be, we split it between all the children allowing them to make up to 5 beads to save and paint later.  The moms and children really enjoyed creating different shaped and sized beads, as well as ones that were all the same. 

     

Next week the children will get to paint their beads any color they want to and give them to their moms as a thank you for coming to school to learn with them.  I can’t wait to see the look on the faces of the moms and grandmothers who receive these unique gifts with all the hard work the children (and moms) put into them. 

 

A Third Language??

 

For some reason it seems the weeks are flying by much faster than they did in the first term.  I do not know how I managed to write about the children’s progress each week last time, but this term it seems like Friday comes and before I have a chance to breathe I am back at the school again Monday morning.  Well of all the things the children are learning, I must say the one that is the most exciting to teach is sign language.  As most of you know, TONGA is the children’s native language and with them coming to school, being taught in English, the hope is that they pick up enough English to jump start them into primary school.  Well children are capable of learning way more than we give them credit for, so I decided not to stop at just teaching English, but I thought teaching sign language would be an excellent way to assist in teaching English and for the children to have another means of expressing themselves.  The children absolutely LOVE sign language and they are picking up words left and right.  The older children probably have a vocabulary of at least thirty words and often use them to communicate when Tonga and English are not an option.  I can give them commands in sign language like “sit down”, “stand up”, or “jump” and without saying any words the children know exactly what to do.  Last week we learned some emotions and without any prompting this week, the children were working together to remember the signs I taught them last week!  Sign Language is also a great tool in teaching the children the alphabet…each week we learn a new letter and we sign all the letters from “A” to the one we are learning so the children get used to hearing the letters in order and understand what letters are! 

 

 

In addition to learning their third language, the children have been very busy measuring maize in the discovery table.  A few weeks ago, some of the parents donated maize to the school so that we could open the discovery table with maize inside to support the children’s learning.  As soon as the table was full, the children dived right in and began working with measuring cups, bowls, funnels, and trays measuring out various amounts of maize often pretending they were going to town to sell whatever they measured out for the day. 

Along with everything else the children naturally explore, investigate, and discover in the school, one other things sticks out from these past few weeks about the children’s learning.  The children have been preparing to have their moms come to school with them this term.  They have been busy drawing pictures of their mothers and telling the teachers all about the things they enjoy doing with their moms.  The vision is to put up the pictures of the moms with the children's words written underneath for the moms to enjoy when they come and visit the school to do a special art project with their children.  The children can’t wait to bring their moms to school to see their art work, show them around the classroom, and make beads with them.  The teachers are thrilled about the moms coming and being a part of their children's learning…what a wonderful experience for everyone!! 

As for bible lessons this term the children are moving into the third part of the Trinity.  We have spent time in learning about God the Father and God the Son and now we are learning about the third part of God…His Spirit.  As we learn about God’s Spirit, we will be encouraging the children to recognize where God’s Spirit is already working in their lives, as well as, in the community.  I am most excited about this since we will soon be moving into the fruit of the Spirit and teaching the children that if they claim to be a Christian, than their lives will be marked by God’s Spirit of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control, gentleness, faith, and love.  Out here it is so easy for a person to claim Christ, but to truly be saved by Christ is a rarity among these people.  Please pray that the Spirit moves in the hearts of all the children who are hearing these truths in the coming weeks and that those who truly believe in Jesus Christ will begin bearing fruit in His name, acting and looking different than those who do not believe in Jesus. 

Never Ending Blessings…

 

God is sooooo incredibly good to know what we need and when we need it.  One of the things I have struggled with the most since I have been in Zambia is loneliness and not having anyone to share struggles with, joys with, and things like that!  God sustained me through my first year with visitors here and there, but mainly through quiet times with Him and moments spent in His word.  This year it seems God has decided to bless me with several friends visiting to help me feel not so alone.  May has started the influx of people around here and it won’t be until next year that all the volunteers will be going home…Praise God, he is blessing me fellowship and companionship through the end of this year!!

At the end of May, God sent three wonderful people to us to spend some time in our ministry here.  Two of them are brother and sister hoping to start their own mission organization supporting missionaries they meet out on the field.  Amber and Stephen started their journey in Kenya, then came by us, and Stephen even went on to Cambodia making connections with missionaries that are already on the field looking for ways their organization can help out by sending teams, supplies, and whatever else God opens the doors for.  Amber and Stephen were only here for a short week, but enjoyed helping out around the house, cooking, working with Amber and Jako, and even coming up to the school and playing games with the children or supporting them in their learning for the day!  They both enjoyed being out here and we loved having them and being encouraged by them…any time God sends people out here it is a huge blessing to us.  We pray and hope that we will see them out here again, but until then we wish them well and for God’s will to be accomplished through their calling to start up this organization!!

 

Our other visitor is a friend of mine from GBC in Maryland…Rachel!  This is her first time to Africa and her first time being out on a mission trip without a team of peers coming with her.  She came the same week as Amber and Stephen, but is staying until the beginning of August.  Rachel knew that God was calling her to give up her summer to serve Him oversees and He opened the doors perfectly for her to come here and support the many things that God is doing here.  Her first week was a bit of an adjustment being two hours from any sort of town and still trying to get her mind around the fact that she is going to be here for over two months, not any easy thing to swallow in just a few days…and her first week happened to be the week I had to send Medis to town to get her passport and injection for yellow fever, so I was short staffed at the school unable to take time off to properly welcome Rachel and introduce her into the bush!!  Thankfully, God sustained her through her first week and we had plenty of time on the weekend to get settled in and acquainted with the ministry out here, the school, and the orphanage.  Since there is so much to do around here, Rachel has decided to split her time between working at the school and helping out Amber with orphanage duties and MOL administrative tasks.  I think now that Rachel has a loose schedule and purpose for each day, she is much more comfortable around here and now looking forward to her two months she has with us.  I surely enjoy having her around as a friend and roommate. 

As the summer goes on, we have a couple teams coming out to serve here and some other individuals, some who have been before and some who have not, so please keep them all in your prayers and the impact they are making for God’s kingdom by coming out to serve here!!

 

Rain, Rain Go Away…Come Back Another Day!

 

Wednesday: May 30, 2012

Science Experiment: Making Rain

Question: What will happen when we cover a jar of warm water with a plate and then place ice cubes on top of the plate?

Hypothesis:

Essay: The stones (ice cubes) will melt.

Trista: It’s going to rain.

Isaiah: Nothing.

Fedness: The stones (ice cubes) will turn to water.

Buumba: It’s warm inside.

Isaiah: The cold stones will be warm.

Procedure:

1. Pour warm water into a glass jar.

2. Cover the jar with a ceramic plate.

3. Let stand for a minute, then place ice cubes on the plate.

4. Observe as rain forms and falls down the sides of the glass.

Observations:

Teacher: What do you see happening inside the jar?

Trinida: The water is flowing from the top.

Trista: (Pointing to the drops of water on the side of the jar)There is water.

Trista: It looks like rain.

Chilala: The stones are melting.

Isaiah: There is light shining inside the jar.

Buumba: Water is flowing from the top.

Ovius: The water is shining.

Isaiah: Water is flowing from the top.

Fedness: Water is dropping down the side.

Teacher: What does this remind you of that we often see outside?

Trinida: Rain.

Ovius: Clouds.

Buumba: Rain.

Teacher: Yes…nice thinking everyone, we did make rain inside this jar!

Conclusion:

Teacher: Boys and girls, what happened when we covered the warm water with the plate and then placed the cold stones on top of it?

All: It rained.

Teacher: What did we need to make it rain?

Trinida: Hot water.

Fedness: Hot inside.

Isaiah: Cold on top.