Boogers

    Boogers...Kinder kids have a lot of boogers.  I mean a LOT of boogers.  And because they aren't so efficient at the whole "blow your own nose" thing (I even caught one putting the tissues back into the box after he wiped his nose)...those boogers tend to bug them a lot.  At any given time I can look at my kids and see at least one of them with a finger in their nose. My general circle refocusing goes like this "bottoms on floor, hands in laps, fingers out of noses." The boys kind of like having me help them blow their noses because they think it's funny when I tell them to "blow hard, harder, like you are trying to blow your brains out!"
     In less gooey news, this week is assessment week.  Which means I've spent my week writing tests to give my kids, and then cramming them in whenever I have a spare moment. Sometimes these assessments are nice to give, like when some kids blow through them and get all the answers right. Sometimes, not so much...One of my students is a little younger than the others and is still having to work at her English.  Mistake number one: giving the literacy test at the end of the day. Mistake number two: giving the test near an alphabet poster.  Basically for every question I asked about the letters and words she would stare at the poster like it was her life-line then pick a random letter.  It was both very sad, and very amusing to watch. A sample of her answers: "I'm going to say a word and I want you to tell me what the first sound you hear in the word is, okay?"..."Rabbit" "uhhhh, mmmm, (makes hard thinking face) Buh!" "Hat" "aaaahhhh...SSSS"...That's about how the whole test went. Fun day.
     Frustrations aside, I love teaching Kinder, even if they drive me nuts on a daily basis. I'm working on the tattling my kids love to do (uunnnhhh...TEEECHHEEERRR!), and I think it may actually be getting better! So that's good. Otherwise I was going to have to order "Franklin the Tattling Turtle" to read to my kids.  Unfortunatly, we did the main lesson on tattling the day my major "bearer of hourly updates" was out sick.  Not so great planning on my part. Buuuut...I think a daily refresher course on tattling versus reporting won't hurt, will it?
     I did get fingerprinted today.  That was fun! We had to go to the local INTERPOL to do it, so the whole car ride over I had spy music playing in my head. In Paraguay, INTERPOL has a fish tank.  It was full of piranahs genetically modified to look like goldfish. Or at least that's what my brain has decided.
   Very soon all the paperwork will be done so they can turn it in for my permanent recidency card called a cedula, and ninty days later I will officially be a resident of Paraguay!  This year they started making the cards permanent.  That means that when the US eventually throws me out for being too awesome to handle, I can trot on down to Paraguay to live. Aren't you jealous? ;)

   On a personally exciting, and particularly nerdy note, I am having fun growing a garden out of the produce I buy at the grocery store.  Potato eyes grow roots pretty much over night!  It's insane to watch! My class did discover that if you leave carrots in a cup of water long enough to try and "grow" them, they will rot.  And if you keep leaving them there because they smell too bad to put in the trash can in the morning and you keep forgetting to put them in the trash at the end of the day, they start to smell really, really bad...then they disolve. It's nasty. :)

Day 3: Medium white roots

Day 4: Long white roots

Day 5: Hairy white roots

I know you find that as riveting as I do. 

My roommate isn't as impressed, but she let's me keep growing plants on the kitchen counter, so I can't complain...

Pinapple, and a cutting of whatever that other thing is.

My grandmother would be proud.

So, that's my exciting news for the day. Feel free to leave comments, it makes me feel special and has the added bonus of convincing me to remember to write on my blog. (Come on people, I've got roomates to compete with here)  ;) Have a great week!


Prayer requests:  A student of mine recently missed a week of school to go on a mission trip with her parents.  Apparently while she was there she picked up some kind of rash and is now missing even more school.  She doesn't hurt and isnt' really itchy, and she probably isn't contagious, but apparently she has so many little red rash spots on her body and face that she's pretty swollen.  It could take a few to 10 days to go down, so she'll be missing more school.  Please pray for her quick recovery and that it isn't anything serious!