They call this babysitting?

I call it pure fun :)

Big G

a few quotes from one of my little boys...

Yesterday Garrett told his mom he didn't like school. She said, "Yes you do! You love school, you always come home talking about what you did. What do you not like about school?"

Garrett said, "Miss Betsy always makes me do these 20 hour long art projects and I'm just tired of it!"

:) apparently our art lesson was a little intense this week.


In music class today Garrett climbed up on my lap, wrapped his lil 4 year old arms around my neck and whispered in my ear, "It's going to be a very long time until I let you go, Miss Shannon."

makes. my. day.

a bilingual lunch with team awesome

Team Awesome

Every Tuesday and Thursday I work with an organization called Jumpstart. It's an Americorps partner organization whose goal is to work towards the day when every child enters Kindergarten ready to succeed.

Our team works with a local elementary school's two pre-k classes two days a week one one one with some fabulous children! I can't show any pictures of the kids... but trust me they are ah-dorable.

We end our time with the classes by having lunch with a select few children. The teachers are always on the lookout for "good citizens" and children who are "listening with their whole body" to come have lunch with us in the common area.

Well today's lunch was extra special. We had two boys eat with us (and some cute girls too)... I'll call them Evan and Jose. (none of the names on this blog are the actual names of the children)...

Well Jose is a Spanish-only student... he's learning a lot of English, but is pretty silent most of the time. Evan, however, speaks entirely in English at school and in Spanish at home. We were trying to talk to Jose during lunch, asking him questions, trying to say "apple sauce" in Spanish. How many adults does it take to make a complete sentence in Spanish? In this case, four :)

There we were piecing together sentences to talk to Jose... and when we finally got one correct, he bursts into this "alaksdhfklasjdhfklasjhdfklajhsdfkasjhdf" of Spanish to us! We all looked at each other and said, "uhoh. What in the world did he say!?"

Then we realized Evan could translate!! Jose repeated what he said to Evan, who threw his hands in the hair and exclaimed, "AI!"

When we asked Evan what Jose had said he grinned and said, "I don't know."

Riiiiiight. That's when we knew we were in trouble :) Before we knew it the two of them were chattering away, pointing at various members of our team and laughing. Trouble :) The most we could catch was them calling Lanita a Water Head (we think because her hair is wavy) and the rest of us Apple Heads.

When Lanita tried to ask Evan a question, he sighed and said, "You always say everything wrong."

Well... at least we tried. This girl needs to keep taking Spanish.

interesting thanksgiving...

Teacher: Does anyone remember who the pilgrims were?
Child: ALIENS!

:)

Mondays

I start off my Monday mornings with practicum at one of the county schools. I work in a pre-K class that serves at risk children and children with identified disabilities... and it's really a FANTASTIC way to start the week.

Today I left my house at 8:10am, and normally it takes me about 10 minutes to get to school, but there was a rather large accident on the way so I didn't arrive until 8:50am (whoops). My kids were already in music class so I just jumped right in singing "Five Fat Turkeys" with them and was greeted with many hugs.

Our morning message always says "Good morning! Today is..... and then a sentence or two about our days. Today's was already up on the whiteboard in the class and it said:
Good morning!
Today is Monday.
Today we have music.

One of the little boys asked to add a sentence that said: Miss Bremer is here today!
:)

And then at recess one of the boys from the other Pre-K class ran up to me and said, "You look beautiful today!"

Now THATS the way to start off the week.

being a grown up...

Qui'Nazhia: I'm a grown up, Miss Shannon.

Me: Oh really? What makes you a grown up?

Q: I tell people what to do.


:)

New Favorite Pick-up Line:

"Miss Shannon, your nose sparkles."

-- Max, age 2

Special guests

Today at Jackson-Via we had some musicians come and play for our two preschool classes. One particularly enthusiastic girl announced, "Oh I LOVE munitions!!!"

Hilarious.

Today I walked into my Monday morning practicum site and first of all was greeted with a sweet hug from one of my little boys. There's nothing like starting the week off like that!

Then another little boy who is almost entirely a Spanish speaker came running up to me and announced, "I am having a happy Halloween!" Its Oct. 27th :)

It's the first sentence I've EVER heard him speak! He usually just says "Yup" and "Whats'at?" repeatedly. It's so fun to see how much his vocabulary is expanding... today he also correctly named Circles and Squares in Colorama (you know you wish you got to play that game).

Happy day...

Some choice quotes from the week...

My Shannon is weird.
-- Annabel

You smell like an airplane!
-- Jaylyn

Ania: I saw the real Cinderella. Her sisters made her do all the work. That wasn't very nice.
Me: That's true. What could Cinderella have done about that?
Ania: She could pack up her stuff and leave.
Me: Why do you think she decided to stay instead?
Ania: Because the prince was there of course.

Me: Liv, what did you like about the trip to Whole Foods last week?
Livia: The goat cheese! It tasted like clouds.

a fruitful weekend

It was the annual apple festival at Carter's Mountain Orchard this weekend!
Ellen and I headed up the mountain in lil rojo with some of our favorite ladies...

We wandered through the trees in search of the perfect apples... and it ended up that we picked 20 pounds of apples!!! So we came home and got baking...

Apple Pie 2008

The lovely Lauren came over for dinner and brought her ice cream maker so we enjoyed delicious vanilla ice cream with our pie!

Then today after church we decided to put a few more pounds of apples to use in the neighborhood...

Homemade applesauce & molasses cookies

We wandered around the street meeting new neighbors and inviting them to our Pumpkin Carving Party later this month! I'm looking forward to it... and to more pie. :)

Let's Play Football!

I have two practicum sites this semester where I basically observe children in preschool programs and help the teachers in any way I can. So my Monday and Friday mornings are spent in two different schools in C'ville, and I always come home with stories.

Last Friday, during indoor recess one of the little boys in my class asked me to play football with him....

G: Miss Shannon! Will you play football with me?
Me: Well sure! Do you want me to be the quarterback or do you?
G: (looking confused) No, here's how we play... you throw the ball and I catch it. Then I fall down, and the other guy helps me up. Thats how you play football.
Me: Sounds good.

I proceed to throw the ball... which G attempts to catch :) He then ignores the ball and proceeds to flop his four-year-old self on the ground. I pause... he opens one eye and with a frustrated tone says,

G: Ok! Now you're the other guy. You have to help me up.

Which I did... because thats how you play football :)

more anne

Anne Lamott is one of my all time favorite authors... beloved for her wit, honesty about brokenness, and charming reliance on Jesus. I just started her latest book Grace (Eventually) and read this the other night...

I would be fine with life's contractions if they would simply pass when I am ready for them to, so I can be okay again and remember what, after all, I'm doing in labor. Being human can be so dispiriting. It is a real stretch for me a lot of the time.

Anne (we're on a first-name basis) is referring to childbirth and how the pain is worth the end result, much like the sufferings of our faith bring eventual glory. I just love her honesty here... you can hear her clench her fists and stomp her feet a little because life is just frustrating sometimes. Call it what it is!

absent...

I am so bad at posting on this... as my friend Stephanie and I talked about it feels weird to put your life on display, especially when you're just in the US (as compared to Uganda, Bolivia, Korea or one of the many other places my friends now live!)...

but as I muddle through gradschool there are some thoughts to share, some quotes that inspire, and some questions I have... so they'll come up occasionally!

wendell on lilies...

my sweet friend katie is often a source if literary delight to me... feeding my addiction to novels about the rest of this big world... so i went to her before i left for the beach to get some books to last me through the 10 day hiatus.

she sent me off with a compilation of wendell berry poems and i just delighted in them! especially the ones about nature just ran through my head as we kayaked through marshes into open ocean, walked over sand dunes down to kettle ponds, and saw lilies leaning with the bayside wind.

here's one of my favorites...

The Lilies

Hunting them, a man must sweat, bear
the whine of a mosquito in his ear,
grow thirsty, tired, despair perhaps
of ever finding them, walk a long way.
He must give himself over to chance,
for they live beyond prediction.
He must give himself over to patience,
for they live beyond will. He must be led
along the hill as by a prayer.
If he finds them anywhere, he will find
a few, paired on their stalks,
at ease in the air as souls in bliss.
I found them here at first without hunting,
by grace, as all beauties are first found.
I have hunted and not found them here.
Found, unfound, they breathe their light
into the mind, year after year.

visions of saturday

Cassidy's day of joy

Ten Thousand... Charms?

I heard this song the other day...

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy

Weak and wounded, sick and sore

Jesus, ready, stands to save you

Full of pity, love and power

I will arise and go to Jesus

He will embrace me in His arms

In the arms of my dear Savior

O, there are ten thousand charms

Come, ye thirsty, come and welcome

God's free bounty glorify

True belief and true repentance

Every grace that brings you nigh

I will arise and go to Jesus

He will embrace me in His arms

In the arms of my dear Savior

O, there are ten thousand charms

Let not conscience make you linger

Nor of fitness fondly dream

All the fitness he requireth

Is to feel your need of Him

I will arise and go to Jesus

He will embrace me in His arms

In the arms of my dear Savior

O, there are ten thousand charms

Come, ye weary, heavy-laden

Lost and ruined by the fall

If you tarry 'til you're better

You will never come at all

I will arise and go to Jesus

He will embrace me in His arms

In the arms of my dear Savior

O, there are ten thousand charms

And when I heard it I was so moved thinking that the lyrics said "In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are then thousand TRIBES"... I just had this sweet picture of all these children and people I love from all over the world standing together in Jesus' arms.

But then I looked up the lyrics and was puzzled and amused to find it was ten thousand charms. As my sweet friend Lauren said, "Jesus has a big ole charm bracelet with all his chirrun hanging off it." So funny what we think we hear :)

He Knows My Name

I have a maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call

I have a father
He calls me his own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name...

-- Geoff Moore