My kiddos in the 4th grade

Here is one half of my day's worth of kids. I am missing a few because there was a death in the family for one of my students, which means that there are a few more students out because of the family relationships.

That being said, it was an easier day today. I was with my small class of third graders in the morning- wait til you see their faces, too. Cuties! Then we all headed out for the Elder Talk and yuraq. With now four classes in the gym- it's quite the number of kids and I was a little nervous about helping with the set up all while making sure that the kids were ready for the Elder. Thankfully all came together quite nicely in the end, and with the quick thinking of my aide, we were able to pull in the high school drummers for the yuraq- or dancing. It is always makes me stand in awe when I hear the drummers and singers perform. It is just one of my favorite things about the Yup'ik culture- the music and dancing. 

Once that concluded, we then split into our classrooms and finished the day kind of on a positive note. There were a couple of talks with some of my students, but other than that- things progressed nicely all the way until they took off after lunch. 

So all in all it was a good day. 

Having someone to teach with as well is quite the nice change. I haven't really done this sort of thing since my time in North Africa with a good friend. However, having a co-teacher that is from the community and knows the culture is proving to be the best thing for everyone all around. The kids get to learn in their native tongue, and I get to learn more about the culture. Below is a picture of my colleague sharing with me the plants from the tundra that are used for medicinal purposes. She took the fourth graders out the other day and they were able to pick the plants in preparation for a project that will be displayed for Open House next week. I am very proud of her as she is tackling school ( like me) and teaching on her own for the very first time in a dual language environment. Not easy, folks. 

So- it's now Friday and everyone is ready to head home and be done for awhile. We are wiped out and who knows what next will look like as there will sadly be a funeral on Monday, and Open House on Thursday.

It's my hope that all goes well out in the community and here in the school as we tackle the second week of school:)