International Family Fun Night

Last Friday was International Family Fun Night at VCS.  Families were invited to dress in their traditional clothing.

Also included in the evening was a program in which various groups demonstrated some dances of their own culture.  This is one of my students and his family and friends taking a bow after showing an Ethiopian game.

Teachers volunteered to host rooms based on countries or cultures.  Students were given a passport to be stamped in each room.  This is the Africa room.

It was great to see so much diversity in one place.

A thought from C.S. Lewis

...as if "religion" were something God invented and not His statement to us of certain quite unalterable facts about His own nature.

-Mere Christianity

My first birthday party

Last Sunday one of my students had their sixth birthday party at Family Fun Center.  It may have been the first student party I've been invited to, but I know for sure it's the first one I attended.  It was fun to see my boys outside of school and not have to worry about keeping them well-behaved.  It was a great hands-off afternoon.  

Here I am enjoying the traditional Sachertorte.

Beauty to Slush

Our side field in the morning

Our side field at the end of the day

We got some good snow time in before the magic was gone.

Winter in Prater

A Pleasant Surprise

Yesterday I came back from lunch to find this on my desk:

A package from my sisters!!

Oreos, new socks and a movie...what more could a girl ask for?

100th day "celebration"

Actually I miscounted and it was last week, but my kids didn't know the difference so we had a mini celebration yesterday.  By mini I mean that Zero the Hero wrote us a letter and sent me to Spar to buy peanuts and raisins so that the kids could use them to count to 100 and then eat them.  So exciting.

Valentine's Day Crisis

Kind of like a mid-life crisis

Love is all around

Thanks Mom!

Fun Fact

There are 285 teachers with the last name Montoya credentialed to teach in the state of California.

"My heart is breaking into pieces"

So states one of my boys as he's making Valentines.

"I tricked you!"

A couple of weeks ago one of my boys informed me that he had two loose teeth.  I very seriously told him that if it came out in class to tell me and we would make a special envelope to ensure that it was safe and then he could take it home to his family (loosing teeth is a big deal in Kindergarten).  So when he interrupted our story at the end of the day exclaiming that his tooth had come out we all gathered around to see.  He was a little shy and wouldn't show us, but when I folded a piece of paper into a pouch he dropped his tooth into the paper and I stapled it shut.  We continued about our business of ending the day and about ten minutes later he gleefully informed me that he'd tricked me.  He'd found a little rock and that was what he'd deposited into the pouch.  No wonder he didn't want to show us; there was no hole!

The irony is that the next morning one of his teeth did fall out and we didn't believe him.  It was only at the sight of blood and a real tooth that he recieved the proper attention.

What a great kid!

Ice skating

Last week I went ice skating for the first time.  There seem to be so many firsts moving to a new place.  Of course part of that is living in a climate that actually has seasons.

To prove that there were ice skates on my feet:

Amanda, Bekah, me, Rachel, Yvonne, and Carrie

I was probably the slowest person there, but I didn't fall down!

Nice

The last five days I've been traveling around Nice, France.  Despite the fact that it was raining most of the time, it was absolutely gorgeous.  With the help of some Dramamine and lots of buses, we were able to visit many sites in the Nice area.

Nice

Eze

Monaco

St. Paul de Vence

Antibes

The beautiful Mediterranean

Villefranche

Many more pictures to be found on my picture website:  http://melinvienna.shutterfly.com/

I'm off

to Nice, France for the next few days.  I'll report back when I return.

I might not be friends with Rachel much longer...

...if she makes me try on outfits like this!