Final Trimester: From English to Science

During my (Erika's) last trimester of teaching at AFE, I was assigned 7-9th English and 9th Social Studies.  I felt completely out of my league for teaching social studies, but there was a class that needed a teacher, so I took it willingly.  I did my best to come prepared with an interesting discussion and a powerpoint lesson, however, it was never what I wanted it to be...I just wasn't in my element.

In addition to this anguish I felt, I was teaching English which was the students' 2nd trimester of English this year.  They were all feeling restless and nothing I came prepared with was gaining their interest.  I brought projects, creative writing time, games, etc., and the days seemed to get longer.  I had a thought one day, and realized that I was in a huge funk.  And I could do something about it!  So for the final month or so of teaching at AFE, I changed my English class to a science classroom...decided to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. 

I was able to teach them about ecosystems and food chains & webs...I incorporated an Owl Pellet Dissection Lab at the end of the unit which the students extremely enjoyed!  Finally I ended with a microscope discovery lab and every student in high school now knows with expertize how to focus on a specimen or sample through a microscope.

7th Grade Math

The government approved home-school curriculum used by AFE is set up so that 7^th grade takes a math class for the first 2 trimesters and not for the last trimester.  Adam thought, and I agreed, that it would be a good idea to have 7^th grade continue with some sort of math class for the last trimester so they don’t get out of the “mode of math”.

What started out as a class I dreaded teaching turned into one of my favorite classes of the entire year (my physics class was another favorite).  My idea for this math class at the beginning of the trimester was to incorporate what they learned in the first two trimesters into “real world” math problems.  For example: “Two cars are 500 kilometers apart and moving toward each other…”.  Needless to say, the kids HATED coming to class.

Then I got the idea to change this math class into a project class, incorporating math, physics, and engineering principles.  I knew this was a successful change within the first 5 minutes of the very first project.  We did the following 10 projects over the trimester:

1.      Tessellations – form unique patterns without overlaps and gaps by using a combination of shapes, including triangles, squares, octagons, etc.

2.      Building your dream house – draw your dream house using a scale of 1 cm = 1 foot

3.      Velocity Experiment – calculate the speed at which you run and walk uphill and downhill

4.      Parachute Project – build a parachute with the given materials to slow down a falling object

5.      L.1,000,000 Project – spend L.1,000,000 exactly down to the cent.

6.      Bulls-eye Probability – throw arrows at a target and calculate the probability of hitting each ring

7.      Force of friction – find the angle at which the friction force changes from static friction to sliding friction for 4 different surfaces

8.      Paper Olympics – a 3 part competition involving paper (tallest tower, longest bridge, furthest flying airplane)

9.      Surface Tension – build an aluminum boat that can support the most weight

10.  Point Load Exercise – apply a point load to popsicle sticks and construct a graph using Microsoft Excel that compares the distance between outside supports to the weight required to break the popsicle stick

 

At the end of the trimester, I asked the kids how many of the projects they could remember without looking at their notebooks.  I was happily surprised when they came up with all 10 projects within 2 minutes.  They also had no trouble telling me the main concept they learned from each project.  It is amazing to see how God can use me to connect with and teach these kids.

September Update

Marriage Retreat Weekend: Sept 7-9th

Ryan and I had the privilege to attend a marriage conference led by some amazing couples The Feazels and Steve & Debbie Wilson Marriage Matters Now who shared their stories and wisdom for 3 days, 2 nights.

We had the opportunity to focus on the parts of our marriage that we both want to strengthen, and we left with some great tools to navigate the rougher parts that we haven't hit yet.

"You would never go to Tegucigalpa to learn how to drive a manual, the same is with marriage, you first learn how to drive and then you will be better equipped to navigate the more challenging parts."  

We have grown so close this past year and I can honestly say that Ryan has my back - he is my very best friend. 

Roatan with Friends: Sept 10-16th 

We found out in the last week of August that we were going to have the 2nd week of September off, so as we were hanging out with our friends, Becky, Hollie & Adam, we couldn't think of a better way to spend that week but on the beautiful beaches of Roatan.  Thanks to many blessings, we were all able to manage transportation to the island and had an incredible and unforgettable time.

Desfile del Dia de la Bibla - Bible Day Parade Sept 30th

PHOTOS: Courtesy of Hollie Macenczac 

Both AFE and our church Amor y Vida have been busily preparing for the last day of September known as the Day of the Bible here in Honduras.  This year, more than 30 churches were uniting together to celebrate this day to celebrate what the Bible is to us as Christ Followers by parading downtown Tegucigalpa until we reached the Presidential Palace where there would be a worship concert for all.

The high school girls were as enthusiastic as ever, dancing to music blaring from the speakers in the back of Jeony's truck.  They were followed by the rest grades from AFE holding up hand-made, painted signs. 

But then it started to rain. And I mean it poured. For the entire duration of our march of 50 minutes...needless to say, the kiddos had paint running down their arms and everyone was soaked.  But I was so impressed at the attitudes of each and everyone of our AFE students.  I didn't hear one bit of complaining or frowns...at the end, the sun came out!


Side note: Becky was appointed the official mask maker of the nursery and preschoolers as they would be set up in a boat made out of cardboard to represent Noah's Ark.  I was recruited as her assistant.  We were pretty proud of ourselves when we were finished, and decided that if teaching didn't work out, we would go into business.

Day of the Student

We have learned that Hondurans like to celebrate any and all holidays that they can!  "The Day of the Student" is one of those said days.  On Friday the 7th of September, the political team of a presidential candidate for the 2014 elections stopped by AFE to give a "Day of the Student" party.  They brought 8 pinatas, pop & cake...and despite the obvious political statements that were being made, we know the kiddos still had a fun day off of school!

Before the fun started, Ryan and I joined the students to 30 minutes of jump rope fun!

Happy 16th Birthday Chris!

We have the privilege to live right next door to an incredible Honduran family who has devoted their life to transforming the lives of the people of the garbage dump here in Tegucigalpa.  For those of you who don't know the story of AFE, Chris was 4 years old when she urged her dad, Pastor Jeony, to help the people and children of the garbage dump. Months later in 2001, AFE afehonduras.org began with classes in the garbage dump.

Since then, Chris has grown into a beautiful and intelligent young lady with hopes and dreams of her own.  She is incredibly stylish and loves riding horses on Saturdays.  We were invited to celebrate her 16th birthday with friends and we had an incredible time bowling! 

Final Trimester at AFE

It is crazy to think that we have been living in Honduras for over a year now, and our time is almost finished.  We are just starting our preparations for the final trimester of the year here at AFE.  Ryan will begin teaching physics to our 10th grade, and I am going to start teaching social studies to 7th, 8th, & 9th grade.  YIKES!  Our teaching schedules are changing and so are the relationships with our students. 

After having spent a good chunk of time with them, they are really beginning to confide in us some of their insecurities, worries, and fears.  One of the biggest obstacles that I see in my students is that sometimes they lose focus of the big picture and can only see the here and now.  Life is tough for these students, but AFE gives them an avenue to be the best that they can be and achieve goals they never thought possible.

During these last few months I will do my best to encourage all of my students especially the ones that I have grown close to in the past year.  Please continue to keep all of AFE's students in your prayers, that they would feel encouraged to study hard and finish school, not just this year but in the years to come, too.

Congratulations Nick and Abby!

Ryan received an email a few months ago from one of his best friends growing up saying that he had met the woman of his dreams and they were getting married the end of July!  Of course Ryan and I both wanted to go to Alaska to celebrate with Nick and Abby, but we hadn't budgeted for any additional trips to the States, so Ryan attended for the both of us.  However, I DID get to view the wedding since they streamed it live via the internet...it was beautiful and I am so glad that I got to see a glimpse of it if not in person :) Congratulations to you both!

For the 4 days Ryan was gone, I had the privilege to join my parents and a team of 35 in El Progresso ~4 1/2 hours north of Tegucigalpa.  They were there for the week long medical/dental brigade and I got to help out during the last day!  It was an incredible two days I spent with them and the team...cooking for everyone who visited the clinic, helping my dad with some translations when he met with patients, dancing the night away, and spending one day at the beach with everyone in Tela!
 

FYI: I didn't take any of these photos - thanks to those of you who allowed me to "steal" them off facebook! XOXO

Vacation to Alaska & Idaho

Ryan and I had the privilege to spend one week in each Alaska and Idaho to visit family and to re-energize before we finish our last trimester here at AFE in Honduras.  It was two weeks filled with a mountain race, golfing, a huge yard sale, and of course lots of time with our wonderful families.

We helped Ryan's dad, Brad, who is a potato farmer in Alaska, move an irrigation line at his fields.  I drove a tractor for my first time!

 Pam needed to paint her office, so we spent an afternoon doing that, too!  Afterwards, she treated us to a delicious lunch at Rusty's in Palmer. 

The 85th annual Mt. Marathon Race was a hit for the summer!  Ryan and I didn't have the opportunity to do any sort of mountain training because of the dangers of where we live in Honduras, so we relied solely on Insanity workouts with Sean T. via the TV in our apartment.  And I will tell you what, we rocked it!  We will continue Insanity workouts for our training for next years' race, too!

Pam let us sell a few of her things to raise some money for Honduras - it was a huge success!  We also had a couple family dinners while we were in Alaska, too, and had a great time just relaxing and enjoying the fresh air of Alaska!

After the week in Alaska, we flew to Idaho and went directly to Sandpoint, Idaho where we were surprised the next morning with a huge family breakfast!  There were about 20 people in total, but I was so surprise that I forgot to take any photos!  So I got a couple from my mom's camera :)

We left that afternoon to go to Colburn Lake on the backside of Schweitzer.  It was a very special hike because it is the last hike our dog, Charlie, will ever take.  Her joints are so bad now, that my mom bought a garden cart to pull her in.  We all took turns hauling a very special member of our family :)

We spent a good portion of the week golfing - Erika twice and Ryan three times.  Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of Ryan golfing!  My mom had a member-guest tournament for her 9ers league, Sockhop themed!

We had a family dinner one night at Erika's parents' house where we got to see everyone we didn't see at Schweitzer. 

Erika's mom took us to Silverwood one day and we had an absolute blast!  We spent a lot of time on the lazy river and of course all the rollercoasters!!

The last night, we went golfing at the country club for Friday Night Fights and had a country hoedown dinner to celebrate the end of a great week in Idaho :)