china day in cinemascope

dragon dance

accompanied by drummers

Peking opera

paper cut silhouettes

sugar art

playing games between stations

tea soup

old man Leo with his cotton candy beard 

accidental twins

i.heart.adoption.

snow day!!

Friday we got snow. Quite a bit of snow, in fact, as far as Tianjin is concerned :) There was a possibility of school being canceled due to the weather, but we ended up having a normal school day....well, as normal as a day can be with snow. Since most of our kids have never experienced snow before (at least not enough to really enjoy it!), we decided to take full advantage of our snow day at school.

ready for a fun day in the snow

there were many snowmen built that day

the finished product

 

there was even a snow dog

joy

first graders building a snow cave... (blurry, but still cute!)

and making snow angels

the snowballs got bigger...

and bigger...

and bigger...

until they couldn't even lift them :)

a perfect ending to a busy week :)

twelve-twelve-twelve

"Miss Farrell, we can write the date and not have to worry about what order we put it in!"

"Miss Farrell, did you know that it's 12/12/12 and that this is the last time in a century that it will happen again? Because there's no 13/13/13." 

"Will you tell us when it's 12:12pm so we can cheer?"


Today was a pretty significant day.


It was spent:

• hanging out with twelve really cool kids
• connecting our reading story about volcanoes to the Truth that nature is powerful and amazing because it was created by a mighty God (who is still actively involved in it) and was made to glorify Him [Psalm 24:1-2, Isaiah 45:18, Psalm 65:5-13, Psalm 104:14-30, Luke 19:28-40, Jeremiah 51:16, Psalm 145:21]
• giving pushes on the swings during recess duty
• hearing high pitched screams from the first graders after we counted down to 12:12pm and 12 seconds in the lunch room
• making Christmas plans :)
• interviewing a potential new third grade student
• relaxing after work and watching 12 Angry Men (an unintentional connection to the date)
• catching up on friends' blogs and finding re-postworthy stuff like this:

           


How did you spend your once-in-a-century December day?

welcome, winter

third grade counts

1 class "pet" named Moose

2 astronauts floating in space

 

 

3 family members added to our birthday calendar

 (since no one in our class was born in November)

 

4 table groups trying to earn a star in their constellation

 

5 challenge words to spell each week

 

6 things to remember to "dress" in each day

(our class verse)

 

7 little space monsters serving in our class

8 Shining Stars so far this year

9 planets in our solar system 
(dwarfs included)

 

10 beautifully written words in cursive

11 transitions every Thursday

12 sweet students

coffee shop

Sitting at one of my favorite cafes, Momos. If any of y'all come and visit, I will bring you here. There's nothing China about this place, but I love the drinks and atmosphere :) I'm taking a much needed break from all of the grading and commenting and planning I've been doing to write a catch-up post. It's been a busy few weeks with the quarter ending and report cards being due. I was also sick last week with a stomach bug and missed the last two days of the quarter. Unfortunately, that resulted in spending the better part of my weekend with a pen in my hand marking up large stacks of tests and compositions and cursive sheets that were assigned during those missed days. Third grade is hard work!

Here's a quick snippet of the past month:

• September 30th was Mid-Autumn Festival here in China. The following week was National Day holiday, so we had that week off from work. I spent that first weekend in Beijing with one of my favorite Tianjin families. They were house sitting for a friend who lives on an expat compound, so I had a little vacation away from busy city life....and, honestly, a nice break from China (which I find I need from time to time). I loved staying in a house. I loved the little "neighborhood" that felt like being home--a ritzier version of home, but close enough :) And I loved the family time I got to have, including some cuddle time with their new baby!  We went shopping at a really neat charity thrift store called Roundabout. Always great to see places like this, especially in China.
• I unpacked the last two boxes that have been sitting in my room since I moved. I printed out pictures. I put them in frames. I hung them on my walls. 15 months late, but I finally settled. 
• Despite the busyness of life, I've been able to spend some quality time with my close friends here--families, accountability partners, dear sweet friends. Had a date night with one of my favorite 4 year olds. Got invited to a family dinner/movie night with another one of my favorite families. Went on walks, enjoyed delicious homemade meals and cafe drinks, and had some great talks and prayer times. I get to share life with some really incredible people. Wish y'all could be here to know them, too.
• Started reading Erasing Hell by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle. I haven't picked it up in awhile, but what I've read so far is interesting. Anyone else read that book? I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

That's about it for now. When I get around to charging my camera battery, I'll post some pictures of my classroom and apartment. Check back in a few weeks ;)