here's a video of circle time at preschool...
ignore the singing...please. note that everyone forgot all of the words to this song except the last (and most important). :)


well, there's nothing like hitting the ground running! i jumped right back into school today, which has been going on for about a week. nothing major has changed, but the boys' house is so close to being done! the tile floors are down, and i think they're just finishing up the bathroom. cannot wait for that. the kids got some great christmas presents that they are still so excited about (it's been 2 weeks - that's a good sign!). the generosity that gabriel house saw during the christmas season was such a miracle. we finished the year in the black (gah!) and were able to give the ladies their christmas bonuses (a law here) and toys for their children, which was awesome. they work so hard for inconsistent and not a lot of pay, so anytime we can help them, we try to.
marisol, the poor girl, got her finger slammed in a door so badly that they took her fingernail off at the hospital and apparently it's split right down the middle. of course, she's the one who was in kindergarten last year and has had to play a lot of catch up with her classmates who are ahead of her. she had just been understanding the difference between chicken scratch and nice handwriting and was so proud of how beautiful she wrote...but ever since this accident she's had to write lefty. that girl is persistent, though, and never complains. renie told me yesterday that she and omar are 'so close' to being adopted. i'll miss them, but it will be so good for them!

there are a couple things i came up with over christmas break that i want to do this second half of my time here.
- take a field trip once a month, and do some pre-trip incorporation into class
- go for a walk with one or two kids each day to be able to spend more one on one time with everyone
- teach the kids money (they would rather have 5 pieces of money than 1, no matter what the value)

i went with angelica to pick up a puppy for our neighbor today...an adorable mutt that curled up in my hands...i just about took one home for myself too. we passed a park that would be perfect to take the kids to! there's a basketball court, a big grassy area, and lots of slides and swings. now we just need the manpower to get the kids there...

one last thing that i find very strange. before i left, things were pretty dead...no grass was growing, the ground was pretty dry...it looked like winter. now i'm back, and everything's alive! i have grass in front of my house; i had no idea it could grow there! so not only does it hit 70 most days, but flowers, trees, and grass are growing. LOVE IT.