First Day of School

The time has come again for school to start - but, oh, the preparation beforehand! I have never prepared for public or private school in the States so my "firsts" have all had a Latino flare to them. Sure I remember my own school days - new back back (at least new to me), lunch box, maybe a new outfit for the first day, and I'm not sure what else. Mom, fill me in here. But, really, the majority of the "school supplies" were provided by the school itself - all that great tax money put to good use. Here, the government provides the books for the basic subjects - regulated across the country. Other than that, the parents fund the purchase of books, paper, supplies (glue, white out, erasers, crayons, markers, etc.), school uniforms, the proper shoes, you-name-it. So, entering school is a big deal and a big cost, not only to us (who chose a private school) but to every parent with a school age kid.
Here's a picture of the kiddos this morning - ready for their first day of school. I might add that they were all ready before Dave and I even woke up this morning - lol.

Mother's Day Celebrations

Here in Mexico we celebrate Mother's Day on May 10th every year, whichever day of the week that falls on . . . and it seems to be a pretty big deal. On Friday, the kids put on a presentation which had a Hawaiian theme at school for all the moms. They prepared songs and dances that were both fun and touching. Looking at the photos, you might not know that this was a Mexican school. You have fair skin to dark skin, blue eyes to brown. You can also tell the kids really enjoyed this presentation. I'm interested in what they have planned for Father's Day . . . Saturday, we didn't really celebrate anything. Although, if we had wanted to eat out or something, we would not have found space! And Sunday the kids also presented songs, poems, and gifts to their moms at church. Dave couldn't be there, because he had commited to a service in another church, but I went and was "loved on" by my kids.

I love my kids and they had fun showing me their love this year on Mother's Day - I am truly blessed!

Public Classroom - Jonathan

Parents don't often have the opportunity to be a fly on the wall inside their kids' school or classroom. However, we were invited to watch a presentation, of sorts, about what the kids do in their bilingual school here in Mexico.
Jonathan has 2 teachers: Miss Ale - Spanish, and Miss Aseneth - English. The teachers directed as the kids sang us songs and demonstrated what they were learning through games and question/answer. Dave even joined in the parent/student hand games at the end of the class. I definitely enjoyed getting the chance to see my little guy in action. It was a nice way the end the month of February.
I've put together a Smilebox with photos from the day as well as short video clips of the English and Spanish songs that the kids did. As you view it, you can pause the pages with the control on the bottom right corner as well as play the videos that appear by pressing the "play video" circles as you like. If it says "loading" you may need to wait a few seconds and go back to that page. On pages with various pictures, you can click to enlarge a particular photo. Enjoy!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

School Play

All three of our kids were "stars" this week in their school play. Remember the classic, "Wizard of Oz"? Well, this was "Christmas in Oz" - the general storyline with a little twist. Munchkin Jonathan. Rebekah as the "Good Fairy - Glinda". Joseph as a tin man. Our friend created a little slide show with the pictures she took. I tried my hand at the scrapbook thing and posted it below this blog. Also, I captured some video of Rebekah's ballet dance - enjoy!

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

All the kids did an excellent job and put in a lot of hard work.

There is supposed to be a DVD of the show, so we'll have to see if that turned out . . .

Practice makes perfect

All three kids are working hard at school, not only in their studies, but also in practices each day for their Christmas play in the theater. They are so excited about it and have enjoyed everything from the costumes to the singing to the speaking role that Rebekah has. They're in a production of The Wizard of Oz with a little twist - Christmas in Oz. The directors of the school, knowing our thoughts concerning witches, changed the "good witch" into a fairy, which is Rebekah's role. I know, it's a well-known classic, but I still have a problem with the witch thing . . .. Joseph is in the group with the tin man. And Jonathan is a munchkin. The kids gave us the joy this week of hearing their Christmas song (in Spanish) and presented it to us with the hand movements and everything. If everything works correctly, it should show up below. Enjoy!

First Day of School

Do you remember your first day of school? I'm having trouble remembering mine, but getting the opportunity to relive it through my kids (at least a little). Yesterday marked Day 1 for Bekah and Joseph and, oh, was it eventful! We drive our kids to school here, about a 5-10 minute drive, depending on traffic. Besides Joseph not really wanting to go or get ready the morning of, all arrived and entered without too much trouble. Now, Jonathan, on the other hand, was losing his siblings on this "horrible" day, so Dave made it extra special for him by making him some hot chocolate from his espresso maker (yes, I said hot, here in Mérida!). That seemed to make it all ok.

But the fun started after school when we were informed that Rebekah had fallen at recess and hurt her knee. So, as she came limping out of the school doorway, we were a little more than concerned. We had planned to eat out because it was the kids' first day of school, but we knew that immediately afterwards we would be heading to the hospital for a consultation. She was still hopping around. What we found out was that, basically, she sprained her ankle and would need to rest it for a few days . . . poor thing. We are thankful for medical insurance and the ease of getting care here. There was no waiting to speak of and we received the results very quickly. She is home now with her foot all bandaged up, working on her school assignment from yesterday. Not wanting Rebekah to get all the attention, the boys posed to show that they, too, needed to receive a medical opinion on their condition - little brother syndrome, I think that's what it's called. Well, today Joseph had to "go it alone", braving the new school on his own. It isn't easy for him anyway, so we'll see what the outcome is this afternoon. Maybe going solo was a good thing . . .