Dynamisms

We're in the midst of state mandated ESL testing at work, not usually the most entertaining few weeks of the year. Dynamo's done a pretty good job at entertaining me though, despite the tedium of reading "when you get to the stop sign, remember, put your hand on the stop sign, put your pencil down, and look at me. You may begin" ad nauseam. He raised his hand half way through the test and when I called on him he said, "You are talking like a computer." He was right. There's something about reading test administration manuals aloud that makes you sound like a recording. Try it sometime.

The listening test narrates a sequence of events and then asks the children to choose the pictures that are in the same order. Yesterday Dynamo finished his writing assignment early, so I told him to draw a picture of his story on the back. When I came back to his seat, I saw a picture of children throwing snowballs with an arrow pointing to children building a snow fort. Underneath it were the same 2 pictures, but in reverse. Each had a bubble to fill in next to it. He had a second set too, of kids watching tv and drinking hot cocoa. "Look" He said. "You have to pick which one it is". I turned over his paper, read his story, and filled in the bubble next to the right order for each of his questions. Too cute.

Advocating

On my purse is a Forgotten Voices pin. I was thinking the other day, that despite the fact that it has been on there for months now, not a single person has asked me about it. And, since no one has asked, I haven't said anything. Never once have I told someone who didn't ask me about it about Forgotten Voices, despite the wonderful work they're doing to help orphan kids who desperately need help, who need our voices so people know they need help. I found myself wondering why it's so difficult to bring up when there have been other things I've advocated for easily-gmail, meet-up groups. . . At my grandmother's the other day, my mom was once again telling someone how wonderful badger balm was. "I sound like an advertisement" she said. "Why is it so easy", I wondered, "to advocate for those things?" And then it struck me. People need them. No one wants dry skin, we all use e-mail. People are happy to listen to our suggestions that might meet their needs.

And then, I remembered something else. A scene from years ago. I was sitting in the car in the grocery store parking lot. My Mom had probably run in for groceries. A woman came by, pushing her loaded shopping cart, a little child in the seat. I was filled with a sudden realization that these people had eternal souls and needed to know God's plan so they could spend eternity with him.

That's what I'm reminding myself of now. Some things are more difficult for us to advocate. We're afraid of being rejected, or laughed at by people who don't want to hear our message. But, they still need to hear it, much more than they need another remedy for dry skin, a more convenient e-mail provider, a great way to meet people with similar interests. They need our message, and that should give us the boldness to tell them.

"Therefore, we are the Messiah's representatives, as though God were pleading through us. We plead on the Messiah's behalf: "Be reconciled to God!" 2 Corinthinas 5:20

Empire Cookies

These empire cookies (the cookies in the front of the photo) are not one of our family's traditional Christmas cookies, but they have the potential to become one. I first made them for an around-the world story time, and liked them so much I saved the recipe. I thought they would make a nice Christmas cookie with a little bit of decorating. The raspberry jelly makes these cookies delicious, and they look pretty too.
Empire Cookies
Recipe compliments of Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract


DIRECTIONS
Cream butter. Add sugar, creaming well. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 2 inch rounds, and place on ungreased baking sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned at edges. Cool thoroughly.
Spread half of the cookies with jam, and top with remaining cookies.
Combine confectioners' sugar, almond extract, and enough hot water to make a thin icing. Frost tops of cookies.

The real reason our parents feed us. . .

Today Thing 2 said something that really made me laugh. Made the whole class laugh. We were talking about needs and wants and the kids had already brainstormed that we need food, shelter and clothes. I was giving them clues to guess the next need. "What does your Mom do for you?" "She cooks for me", said Thing 2. "Why?" " Because she wants me to be strong and healthy" "Why?" Because she doesn't want me to die." "True, but why?" And then, Thing 2s best answer, "Because she wants me to help her work!" Ok, I was looking more for love and care being a necessity, not forced labor, but you know, whatever. (Don't worry, Thing 2's parents really do love him.)

Meet my class

I realized I don't blog much about my students anymore. So, I figured it was time for some introductions. The class I spend the most time with is my second grade ESL reading class. I have 8 second graders, all of them speak Spanish as their first language and have varying degrees of English proficiency.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 are my identical twins. I had them last year in first grade too and they make me laugh. Fortunately for me, Thing 1 has a mole on his forehead, so I can tell him apart from his brother. Thing 1 also likes to remove his shoes whenever I'm not looking and has made quite a bit of progress in reading this year. Thing 2 comes to visit me every morning before school starts. He is generally a bit better behaved than his brother, though he's not above playing air guitar when he finishes his test early and is bored. He's struggling with reading a bit more than Thing 1.

Miracle is the sort of student who makes you keep coming to work each day. When he started in my class at the beginning of last year, he didn't know a word of English, needed an escort to the classroom for the first week or so because otherwise he would get lost, and didn't know the alphabet. He has amazed me. He moved from speaking Spanish only, to answering questions with 1 word English answers, to speaking in complete English sentences, though he is still on the quiet side. He's one of my top readers too and is an absolute pleasure to have in class.

Dynamo is the sort of kid you have trouble being stern with because he always makes you laugh and he's never trying to make trouble. He just arrived in the States this summer, and like Miracle last year, he's been pleasing me with his progress. He had a really good Spanish school background in first grade, so he came to me knowing how to read and write in Spanish which is awesome! He is learning to read English very quickly. He is almost infallibly cheerful, unless he doesn't earn a homework prize, which always causes tears.

Sunshine likes to be helpful. Unless she's pouting (which is unusual for her), she's smiling, and her smile is contagious. She's one of my middle of the road students- I'm not too concerned about her, but I don't usually tell people glowing stories of her progress.

Molasses is my puzzle. While not my strongest reader, I'm often amazed at her phonetic writing- she writes words with blends better than almost anyone in my class. She's overly affectionate, tells incredible stories, and loves to try to tell them to me while I'm in the middle of giving directions, reading a book to the class, helping another student. . . She alternately tries my patience and makes my heart ache for her. She is obviously hungry for attention.

Chatty is my social butterfly. I've known her since kindergarten and this is her 2nd year in my class as well. She's had a history of poor attendance, but I've seen an improvement this year, and with it, giant gains in reading achievement. In addition to being a fairly fluent reader at the level of books we're reading, she's mastered the art of the head wiggle/teeth sucking/eye rolling.

Pearl is the sort of student you'd take a class full of. It would be much easier and more peaceful than the class I have now, though I have to admit, it wouldn't be as interesting. She is dependable, helpful, and friendly. She's also the best reader in my class. She breezes through our books, knows all the sight words, often before I teach them; and she does really well with her phonetic writing too.

It's that time of year again

You know, the time of year when you dust off your green hat, put on pointy toed shoes, and bust some moves.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

But Martha was distracted with much serving

I was reading Luke 10 today, and this verse jumped out at me, "But Martha was distracted with much serving" (Luke 10:40, ESV). I didn't remember ever reading that before. Of course, I remembered the story. I've always struggled with the story of Mary and Martha. I identify way too much with Martha. But distracted? I didn't remember Martha being distracted. I looked it up in KJV (my usual choice of translation) and the word they use there is "cumbered". Distracted puts the story into a different perspective though. The events of the story stay the same, but the emphasis here isn't so much on the serving as it is on Martha's reaction to it. When Martha is "cumbered" with serving, it seems almost unfair that not only did Mary get to enjoy herself listening to Jesus while Martha worked, but Jesus even rebuked Martha when she complained. However, when I read that Martha is distracted by serving, I realize that serving was just that- a distraction. It was something that wasn't necessarily bad, but it got in the way of what was of the highest importance at that moment- listening to Jesus. Of course, that was Jesus' message all along. And I knew that. But I was still stuck thinking "But someone had to do all the work"

I think I still somehow missed the point. Martha allowed the work to be a distraction. She let the pressures of being a hostess overwhelm the pleasure of being with Jesus. Perhaps, if she had taken some time to sit at Jesus feet, they might have had to eat a simpler meal, and maybe the guests would have had to help out a bit, but serving itself would not be the focus. Jesus would be the focus.

I wish there was an epilogue to the story. I wish Jesus came back for dinner and Mary and Martha both sat at Jesus' feet to listen to his teaching, and then everyone had a buffet dinner or order out pizza or something. :)

And now I'm left wondering- what's distracting me from what's really most important?