Christmas at Sonlight

     This week I wrote  over at the Sonlight blog about what Christmas time is like for us here in Port-de-Paix. You can check it out here:

http://sonlightministries.org/blog/24/Christmas-at-Sonlight-by-Katie-Krabel.html

Singing at the annual Christmas program.

Happy Thanksgiving!

     We celebrated Thanksgiving in Preschool earlier this week, complete with turkey hats. We also drew pictures of things that we are thankful for. Here are some of my favorites, along with their artist's description. 

Eva is thankful for her house and her mom.

Samuel is thankful for cars, his family, and circles.

Chartanie is thankful for her family, food, and her friend, Matz. 

Jeamarly is thankful for his friends, his mom and dad.

Gabrina is thankful for juice, food, and her family. 

So thankful for these little turkeys.

Be Still

     We're in our third month of Preschool, and we've (finally) found our rhythm. The first weeks  are always a challenge. Everything is new for my kids, learning the alphabet, shapes, colors, and numbers- and in two new languages! But now, it all seems normal. They've learned basic English phrases and can follow directions more easily. They've also become more comfortable, which means they talk - a lot. :) Now, one or two kids talking doesn't cause much of a disruption. But when you have a classroom of thirty squirrelly four-year-olds all talking at the same time, it gets loud pretty quickly.

      I have to remind them -often- to sit still, and listen. When they are talking or looking around at the things or people around them, they aren’t listening. Which means that thirty seconds after I've given directions, I hear "Miss Katie! Kisa n'ap fè? What are we doing?" Or, they try to do the work on their own, and end up making mistakes.
     This can be frustrating for me, because I want my kids to do well; I want what's best for them. I want them to follow, so they can learn, grow, and be successful. But lately, I’ve realized that God (as he so often does) is teaching me through my Preschoolers. Because I do the exact same thing that my kids do.

    Sometimes, I get so distracted by all the noise in my life, that I can’t hear his voice. I get so caught up in my circumstances, my frustrations, and my worries that I forget to turn to the one who holds them all in his hands. Or, thinking I know what’s best, I plow ahead, without waiting for his direction. And then I get stuck in the mess I've created.

    I forget to be still, to quiet my soul and let him speak to me. I forget that he is my peace in the chaos. That he is my joy even in the saddest times. I forget that I can do nothing on my own. My life is not separated into things I can handle on my own, and things I need him for. I need his help for everything.

    In Exodus 14, Moses says to the Israelites as they prepare to cross the Red Sea, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." I imagine standing there. An army bearing down on one side, and an impassible expanse of water on the other. It would have been easy, natural even, to be distracted and overwhelmed in that situation. But they trusted their God. They were still, focused on his voice. And he parted the waters and brought them through.

     I can choose to do the same. I can choose to tune out the noise in my life, and listen instead to the still, small voice that brings peace. My God will fight my battles for me. I need only to be still.

The Very Hungry Preschoolers

   Eric Carle's book"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" was our theme for the day in Preschool. We had lots of fun reading and acting out the book, making caterpillar crafts, and eating flower and caterpillar shaped cookies for snack. 

Acting out the story with pictures.

Evan

Houlda-Lanska

Max

Ryan

Annalisse

Schadrac

Caterpillar cookies

Meet the Preschoolers 2015-2016

Meet this year's Preschool class!

Max

Eldine

 

Samuel

Ryan

Schadrac

Alexandra

Andjie

Joanide

Jeamarly

                                 

                                  Naevah

Chartanie

 

Gabrina

Eva

Meguie

Ketsia

Rose-Nika

Jefferson

Josue

Matz

John Kaylenn

Billy Junior

Jude-Kevin

Alisha

Houlda-Louiska

The twins - Shnaika and Shnailey

Annalisse

Woodensonley

Ted

Another Year Begins

   It's already been two weeks since I arrived back at my home in Haiti, and the time is flying by! I've stayed busy with setting up my house and classroom, catching up with friends, getting to know my new roommate, making lesson plans, and getting settled back into Haiti life. Here are some pictures of what I've been up to!

My last Starbucks in the airport. Always a sad moment.

Caught an overhead view of a rainbow as we flew over Miami.

A view of Port-de-Paix and Sonlight from the MAF flight.

Home sweet home.

Classroom - before.

Classroom - before. All of the tables, chairs, toys,
and shelves are covered to keep the dust off.

The two most essential items to have on hand when setting up your classroom.

I encountered many large roaches, but thankfully no giant spiders this year...so far.

Hugo enjoyed hanging out in my classroom while I worked.

Laminating a few hundred flashcards and letters is a lot of fun.
The hours of cutting and resulting hand cramps that follow are decidedly not.
#teacherproblems

Classroom - after. Note the amazing season posters, made by my
incredibly talented best friend (who happens to be an art major). 

Classroom - after.

Classroom - after.

My Pinterest success of the year.

Classroom - after.

Thank you to everyone who donated toys, supplies, and decorations for my classroom this year! We are already off to a great start, and I'll be posting pictures from our first day soon.